DOMVS NATVRAE - Ripley Reviud

Nil decit nisi Clavis
Printed for William Cooper at the Pellican in little Britain 1678▪

THE Author's Preface TO HIS EXPOSITIONS UPON Sir GEORGE RIPLEY's Compound of Alchymy, &c.

THis Canon of Brid∣lington
flourished in
the days of Edward
the Fourth, King of
England, to whom
he wrote an Epistle,
as in the beginning of this Book ap∣peareth:
a true Artist he was, as
every one who hath attained the
knowledge in this Mastery can te∣stifie.
He wrote, among other Wri∣tings,
these Twelve Gates of Alchy∣my,


which with the Preface, Recapi∣tulation,
Erroneous Experiments by
him warned of, his Epistle to the
King, Vision, and Wheel, I shall
unfold.

For his Experience herein he was
eminent, yea his Writings indeed
are, in my opinion, for the fulness
of them, and eminent descriptions
of things, to be preferred before
any that I have read or seen, yet I
have seen many.

I would detract from no candid
well-deserving Author, but would
ingenuously give them their due;
yet Ripley to me seems to carry the
Garland.

For mine own part, I have cause
to honour Bernard Trevisan, who
is very ingenious, as in all his
Writings, so especially in that Epi∣stle
of his to Thomas of Bononia, in


which let me seriously profess, I
receiv'd the main Light in this
hidden Secret. I shall not name
the place, but read the Epistle, and
read it again and again, for in it
is most excellent truth, and Naked
truth.

Next to him, or rather before
him in some respects, is an Author
whom I will not name; yet truly all
Chymical Writers are therein to
be preferred by any man, by how
far he gets good by them: one
commends Raymond Lully before
all, yet I remember not that ever I
got good by reading of him: some
in good sooth, who are not Pro∣fessors
of this Secret, write more
edifyingly to the informing of a
Tyro, then those whom skill hath
made crafty, especially in such
places where they intend nothing

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less then to discover such Secrets▪
I learned the Secret of the Philo∣sophers
Magnes, from one; of their
Magical Chalybs, from another; the
use of Diana's Doves, from a third;
the Air, or rather the Camelion of
the Philosophers, from another;
the gross Preparation of their Men∣struum,
in another; the number of
Eagles, in another: but for opera∣tion
on the true Matter, and signs
of the true Mercury, I know none
like Ripley, though Flammel be
eminent. I know what I say, as
knowing experimentally the truth,
and what is errour.

For mine own part, I have had
experience of misleading Sophisti∣cal
Writers, and have made many
toylsom laborious Experiments,
though but young; and therefore
having at length, through the un∣deserved


mercy of God, arrived
at my Haven of Rest, I shall
stretch out my hand to such as are
behind.

I have wrote several Treatises,
some in English, but especially
in Latine; one English Treatise
touching the Stone, very plainly
written, but not perfected, unfor∣tunately
slipt out of my hand, and
perhaps may come abroad into the
World; if it do, I should be sorry.
Two Latine Tractates, one intitu∣led,
Brevis manuductio ad Rubi∣num
Coelestem, another, Fons Chy∣micae
Philosophiae, I wrote, which
for especial Reasons to me known
I resolve to suppress. Two other
Latine Treatises, the one intituled,
Ars Metallorum Metamorphose•s, the
other, Introitus apertus ad occlu∣sum
Regis Palatium, I lately wrote,


which perhaps thou mayst enjoy.
Two English Poems I wrote, de∣claring
the whole Secret, which
are lost. Also an Enchiridion of
Experiments, together with a Di∣urnal
of Meditations, in which
were many Philosophical Receipts
declaring the whole Secret, with
an Aenigma annexed; which also
fell into such hands, who I con∣ceive
will never restore it. This
last was written in English, with
many other which I wrote for mine
own recreation, and afterwards
burned.

But now at length studying how
to profit the Sons of Art to my
utmost, I have rather resolved to
unfold Ripley's Knots, and so thou
mayst have two Witnesses in one;
for by the unfolding of him thou
shalt both see the depth of the


Man, and discern that both he and
I were truly, and not Sophistically,
intrusted with this Divine Science
and Art; in which it is not notio∣nal,
as many men conceive the Art
to be, but real Experiments of Na∣ture,
taught me by the only God
and Master of Nature, that was my
Guide; having seen and made the
Secret Water of the Philosophers,
and known the use of it by ocular
experience, to the effecting of the
admirable Elixir. These Writings
peruse, for they are not Fancies,
and so with the help of the most
High, thou shalt attain thy wish.



AN Advertisement.
THe Compound of Alchymy which
seems to be most made use of in this
Book for Quotations, agrees for the
most part with the Edition published by
Ralph Rabbards, and Printed at London
1591. in 4o. in which Edition the English
is not so old as is that Copy which was pub∣lished
by Elias Ash∣mole
Esq;a: Yet I
humbly conceive that
this Expositor hath


thought fit to clear the sence of the old
English Verse, by the change of some few
words, more significant to the present speech,
and yet doubtless not differing from the
mind of the Author; which change of
words, I durst not presume to alter, but
that I ought rather in justice to the Author
to let them pass; and for this reason like∣wise,
that whomsoever shall desire to see the
difference, may easily compare all three toge∣ther,
because they are all published in Print:
and in performing this service, I hope I
have done my duty faithfully, and wronged
no body. I likewise make bold to acquaint
the Reader, that in the Exposition upon
Sir G. Ripley's Preface, in the Learned
Sophies Feast, pag. 52. line 5. I find this
word [greatest,] which from what follows
line 11. (I humbly conceive, with sub∣mission)
should be [meanest,] as may more
manifestly appear from the same Author, in
his Secrets Reveal'd, pag. 62, 63. and in
Sir G. Ripley's 5th. Gate, Stave 40. line 6.
But because I found it [greatest price] in
two Copies, I therefore left it so, and by this
Advertisement submit it to the Readers
Judgment. I have likewise found, that in


the Exposition upon Sir G. Ripley's Epi∣stle
to King Edward the 4th. pag. 9. line 2.
for Mercury, some Copies read Antimony,
which is likewise left to the Readers scru∣tiny,
by

W. C. B.


The Contents. Directions for the Book-binder.
1. The Author's Preface. 1 sheet, Signat.
2. An Exposition upon the Epistle to K. Edw. 3 sheets and a half Signat. A. B. D. E▪
3.—upon the Preface. 6 sheets.
4.—upon the 6 Gates 5. and the Experiments of the Sophick Mercury 19 sheets & a half, from F. to C c.
6. Breviary of Alchymy. 2 sheets, A. B.
7. An Exposition upon Sir G. Ripley's Vision. 2 sheets, A. B.

AN
EXPOSITION
Upon
Sir George Ripley's
EPISTLE
To King Edward IV.

Written by
Eirenaeus Philalethes the Englishman, COSMOPOLITA.

LONDON,Printed for William Cooper, at thePellican in Little Britain, 1677.


Page 1
Sir GEORGE RIPLEY'S EPISTLE TO King Edward the Fourth, UNFOLDED.
THis Epistle as it was im∣mediately
written to a
King, who was in his
Generation, both wise
and valiant; so it doth
comprize the whole
secret, both learnedly
described, and yet artificially vailed.
Yet as the Author testifieth, that in this
Epistle he doth plainly untie the main
knot; So I can, and do testifie with him,
that there is nothing desirable for the
Page 2

true attaining of this Mystery, both in
the Theory and Practick of it, which is
not in this short Epistle fully taught.
This then I intend as a Key to all my
former writings, and assure you on my
faithful word, that I shall not speak one
word doubtfully or Mystically, as I have
in all my other writings, seeming to aver
some things, which taken without a Fi∣gure,
are utterly false, which we did only
to conceal this Art. This Key therefore we
intend not to make common; and shall
intreat you to keep it secret to your self,
and not to communicate it, except it be
to a sure friend, who you are confident
will not make it publick: And this re∣quest
we make upon very good grounds,
knowing that all our writings together,
are nothing to this, by reason of the
contradictions, which we have woven
into them, which here is not done in
the least measure. I shall therefore in this
Epistle take up a new Method, and that
different from the former, and shall first
draw up the substance of the Philosophy
couched in this Epistle, into several con∣clusions,
and after elucidate the same.

Page 3

The first Conclusion is drawn from
the Ninth Stave of this Epistle, the
eight first Staves being only complemen∣tall;
and that is, That as all things are
multiplied in their kind, so may be Me∣talls,
which have in themselves a capa∣city
of being transmuted, the imperfect
into perfect.

The second Conclusion in the Tenth
Stave is, That the main ground for the
possibility of transmutation, is the pos∣sibility
of reduction of all Metalls, and
such Minerals as are of metallick prin∣ciples,
into their first Mercurial matter.

The third Conclusion is in the Ele∣venth
Stave, that among so many Metaline
and Mineral Sulphurs, and so many Mer∣curies
there are but two Sulphurs that
are related to our work, which Sul∣phurs
have their Mercuries essentially u∣nited
to them.

The fourth Conclusion from the same
Stave is, That he who understands these
two Sulphurs & Mercuries aright, shal find
that the one is the most pure red Sulphur
of Gold, which is Sulphur in manifesto,
and Mercurius in occulto, and that other
Page 4

is most pure white Mercury, which is in∣deed
true Quicksilver in manifesto, and
Sulphur in occulto, these are our two
Principles.

The fifth Conclusion from the Twelfth
Stave is, That if a mans Principles be
true, and his Operations regular, his
Event will be certain, which Event is
no other then the true Mystery.

These Conclusions are but few in num∣ber,
but of great weight or concern∣ment;
the Amplification, Illustration and
Elucidation therefore of them, will make
a son of Art truly glad.

Page 5
STAVE IX. In the Edition 1591: but in Esq Ashmole's Theatrum it is Stave 8.
But notwithstanding for peril that may befall,
If I dare not here plainly the knot unbind,
Yet in my writing I will not be so mysticall,
But that by study the true Knowledge you may find
How that each thing is multiplyed in its kind,
And how the likeness of Bodies Metalline be tran•mutable,
I will declare, that if you feel me in your mind,
My writing you shall find true, and no fai∣ned Fable.
FOr the First; Forasmuch as it is not
for our purpose here to invite any
to the Art, only intending to lead and
guide the sons of Art; We shall not
prove the possibility of Alchymy, by ma∣ny
Arguments, having done it abun∣dantly
in another Treatise. He then that
will be incredulous, let him be incredu∣lous;
Page 6

he that will cavil, let him cavil;
But he whose mind is perswaded of the
truth of this Art, and of its Dignity, let
him attend to what is in the Illustration
of these Five Conclusions discovered,
and his heart shall certainly rejoyce. We
shall therefore briefly Illustrate this 1st.
Conclusion, and insist there more largely,
where the secrets of the Art are most
couched.

For this first, which concludes in ef∣fect
the truth of the Art, and its validity;
he that would therein be more satisfied
in it, let him read the Testimony of the
Philosophers: And he that will not be∣lieve
the Testimony of so many men, be∣ing
most of them men of renown in their
own times, he will cavil also against all
other Arguments.

We shall only hold to Ripley's Testi∣mony
in this our Key, who in the Fourth
Stave, assures the King that at Lovain he
first saw the greatest and most perfect se∣crets,
namely, the two Elixirs; and in his
following Verses, craved his confident
credit, that he himself hath truly found
the way of secret Alchymy, and promi∣seth
Page 7

the discovery of it to the King, only
upon condition of secrecy.

And in the Eighth Stave, though he
protests never to write it by Pen, yet
proffers the King at his pleasure, to shew
him occularly the Red and White Elixir,
and the working of them, which he pro∣miseth
will be done for easie costs in time
So then, he that will doubt the truth of
this Art, must account this Famous Au∣thor
for a most simple mad Sophister, to
write and offer such things to his Prince,
unless he were able in effect to do what
he promised; from which imputation,
his Writings, and also the History of him,
of his Fame, Gravity, and Worth, will
sufficiently clear him.

Page 8
STAVE X.
As the Philosopher in the Book of Meteors doth write,
The likeness of Bodies Metalline be not transmutable,
But after he added these words of more de∣light,
Without they be reduced to their beginning materiable,
Wherefore such Bodies which in Nature be liquiable,
Mineral & Metalline may be Mercurizate,
Conceive you may this Science is not opi∣nionable,
But very true, by Raymond and others determinate.
WE come to the second Conclusion;
the substance of which is, that all
Metalls, and Bodies of Metalline Princi∣ples,
may be reduced to their first Mercu∣rial
Matter; And this is the main and
chief ground for the possibility of Trans∣mutation.
On this we must insist largly
and fully, for (trust me) this is the very
hinge on which our secrets hang.

Page 9
First, Then know that all Metalls, and
several Minerals have Mercury for their
next matter, to which (for the most part,
nay indeed always) there adheres, and
is Con-coagulated an external Sulphur,
which is not Metalline, but distinguish∣able
from the internal Kernel of the Mer∣cury.

This Sulphur is not wanting even in
common Argent Vive, by the Mediation
of which, it may be precipitated into
the form of a drie Powder: Yea, and
by a Liquor well known to us, (though
nothing helping the Art of Transmuta∣tion)
it may be so fixed, that it may en∣dure
all Fires, the Test and Coppel, and
this without the addition of any thing
to it, but the Liquor (by virtue where∣of
it is fixed) coming away intire, both
in its Pondus and Virtue. This Sulphur
in Gold and Silver is pure, in the other
Metalls less pure; Therefore in Gold and
Silver it is fixed, in others it is fugitive;
in all the Metalls it is coagulated, in
Mercury or Argent Vive, it is coagulable,
in Gold, Silver and Mercury; this Sulphur
is so strongly united, that the Antients did
Page 10

ever judge Sulphur and Mercury, to be all
one; but we by the help of a Liquor, the
Invention of which in these parts of the
world we owe to Paracelsus, (though
among the Moors and Arabians, it hath
been, and is (at this day) commonly
known to the acuter sort of Chymists.)
By this I say, we know that the Sul∣phur
which is in Mercury coagulable, and
in the Metals coagulated, is external to
the Internal nature of Mercury, and may
may be separated in the form of a tincted
Metallick Oyl, the remaining Mercury be∣ing
then void of all Sulphur, save that
which may be called its Inward or Cen∣tral
Sulphur, and is now incoagulable of it
self, (though by our Elixir it is to be co∣agulated)
but of it self, it can neither
be fixt nor precipitated, nor sublimed, but
remains un-altered in all corrosive wa∣ters,
and in all digestions of heat. One
way then of Mercury Azating all Metals
and Minerals, is by the Liquor Alchahest,
which out of all such Bodies as have Mer∣cury
in their Constitution, can separate a
running Argent Vive, from which Argent
vive all its Sulphur is then separated, save
Page 11

that only which is Internal and Central
to the Mercury, which Internal Sulphur of
Mercury no corrosive can touch: Next to
this way of universal Reduction, there are
also some other particular ways by which
Saturn, Jupiter, Antimony, yea even Venus
and Mars may be reduced into a running
Quick-silver, by the help of Salts, which
because (being corporeal) they pierce
not so radically as the fore-named Liquor
doth; they therefore do not spoil the
Mercury of its Sulphur, but that as much
Sulphur as there in is Common Mercury;
so much also there in is this Mercury of
the Bodies, only this Mercury hath spe∣cificated
qualities according to the na∣ture
of the Metal or Mineral, from which
it was extracted; and for that reason,
(as to our work which is to dissolve per∣fect
Species of Metals,) it hath no more
virtue then common Argent Vive. There
is than but one only humidity, which is
applicable unto our Work, which cer∣tainly
is neither of Saturn nor Venus, nor
is drawn from any thing, which nature
hath formed, but from a substance com∣pounded
by the Art of the Philosopher.
Page 12

So then, if a Mercury drawn from the
Bodies, have not only the same deficien∣cy
of heat and superfluity of faeces as
Common Mercury hath, but also a distinct
specificated form, it must (by reason of
this its form) be so much the farther re∣mote
from our Mercury, then common
Argent Vive is.

Our Art therefore is to compound two
Principles, (one in which the Salt, and
another in which the Sulphur of Nature
doth abound,) which are not yet perfect,
nor yet totally imperfect, and (by con∣sequence)
may therefore (by our Art)
be changed or exalted, which that (which
is totally perfect) cannot be; and then by
Common Mercury to extract not the Pon∣dus,
but the Coelestial virtue out of the
compound; which virtue (being Fermen∣tal)
begets in the common Mercury an Off∣spring
more noble then it self, which is our
true Hermaphrodite, which will congeal it
self, and dissolve the Bodies: Observe but
a grain of Corn, in which, scarce a discern∣able
part is Sprout, and this Sprout, if it
were out of the Grain, would die in a mo∣ment;
the whole grain is sown, yet the
Page 13

Sprout only produceth the Herb: So is it
in our Body, the Fermental Spirit that is in
it, is scarce a third part of the whole, the
rest is of no value, yet all is joyned, (in
the composition,) and the faeculent corpo∣reous
parts of the Body comes away with
the dregs of the Mercury. But beyond the
example or similitude given of a grain of
Corn, it may be observed that the hid∣den
and spiritual virtue of this our Body,
doth purge and purifie its Matrix of wa∣ter,
in which it is sown; that is, it makes it
cast forth a great quantity of filthy earth,
and a great deal of Hydropical Saline
moisture. For instance, make thy wash∣ings
(for a tryal) with pure and clean
Fountain water; weigh first a Pint of the
same water, and take the exact weight
of it, then wash thy compound 8 or 10
Eagles (or times,) save all the faeces, weigh
thy Body and Mercury exactly, weigh
thy faeces being very dry, then Distil or
Sublime all that will Sublime, a very little
quick Mercury will ascend, then put the
residue of the faeces in a Crucible, set
them on the Coals, and all the faeculency
of the Mercury will burn like a Coal, yet
Page 14

without fume; when that is all consu∣med,
weigh the remaining faeces, and
thou shalt find them to be two thirds of
thy Body, the other third being in the
Mercury; weigh the Mercury which thou
Sublimest, and the Mercury prepared by
it self, and the weight of both will not
recompence thy Mercuries weight by far:
So then, boyl up thy water to a skin, in
which thou madest thy Lotions, for that
is a thick water; and in a cool place thou
shalt have Crystals, which is the Salt of
Mercury Crude, and no way fit for Me∣dicines;
Yet it is a content for the Artists
to see how the Heterogeneities of Mer∣cury
are discovered, which no Art save
the Liquor of Alchahest can do, and that
in a destructive, not a generative way as
this is; for this operation of ours is made
between Male and Female, within their
own kind, between which there is a Fer∣ment
which effecteth that which no other
thing in the world could do. In all truth
I tell you, that if you should take our
imperfect compound Body, per se, and
Mercury per se, and Ferment them alone,
though you might bring out of the one
Page 15

a most pure Sulphur, and out of the other
Mercury of Mercury, which is the Nut of
Mercury, yet with these thou couldest
effect nothing, for Fermental virtue is the
wonder of the world, and it is by it, that
water becomes Herbs, Trees, and Plants,
Fruits, Flesh, Blood, Stones, Minerals, and
every thing; seek then for it only, and
rejoyce in it, as in a deservedly invalu∣able
treasure: Now know, that Fermen∣tation
works or ferments not out of kind,
neither do Salts Ferment Metals. Wilt
thou then know whence it is that some
fixt Alcalies do extract a Mercury out of
Minerals, and out of the more imperfect
Metals? Consider then, that in all these
Bodies the Sulphur is not so radically mixt
and united, as it is in Silver and Gold.
Now Sulphur is of kin to divers Alcalies,
that are extraordinarily dissolved or mel∣ted
with it, and by this means the Mer∣curial
parts are disjoyned, and the Ar∣gent
vive is by fire separated. The Mercury
thus separated, is spoiled of its Sulphur,
when as indeed there needs, or is requi∣red
only a depuration of the Sulphur by
separating the impure from the pure;
Page 16

but these Salts having separated the Sul∣phur,
do leave the Mercury worse; that
is, more estranged from a Metallick na∣ture
than it was before; for in its Com∣position
that Sulphur of Saturn will not
burn, for though it be Sublimed, Calci∣ned,
made Sugar or Vitrified, yet by
Fire and Fluxes it still returns to the same
it was in before; but its Sulphur being
(as is aforesaid,) separated, will take fire
if joyned with Salt-peter, even as com∣mon
Sulphur doth, so that the Salts act on
the Sulphur of which they rob the Mer∣cury,
but on the Mercury they act not for
want of Ferment, which is not to be
found, but only amongst Homogeneal
things. Therefore the Ferment of Bread
Leavens not a Stone, nor doth the Fer∣ment
of any Animal or Vegetable, Fer∣ment
a Metal or Mineral. So then, though
out of Gold thou mightest obtain a Mer∣cury
by the help of the Liquor of the
first Ens of Salt, yet that Mercury would
never accomplish our work: whereas on
the other side Mercury made out of Gold
by our Mercury, though there be three
parts of our Mercury to one of Gold:
Page 17

This Mercury I say, will (by continual
digestion) accomplish the whole work;
marvel not then, that our Mercury is more
powerful, which is prepared by Mercury:
For certainly the Ferment, which cometh
between the compound Body and the
water, causeth a death and a regenera∣tion;
it doth that, which nothing in the
world can do: Besides it severs from Mer∣cury
a terrestreity which burns like a coal,
and an Hydropical humour melting in
common water, but the residue is acua∣ted
by a Spirit of Life, which is our true
embryonated Sulphur of our water, not
visible, yet working visibly. We con∣clude
then, that all operations for our
Mercury, but by common Mercury, and
our Body according to our Art, are erro∣neous,
and will never produce our Myste∣rie,
although they be otherwise, Mercu∣ries
never so wonderfully made. For as
the Author of the New light, saith, No
Water in any Island of the Philosophers was
wholsom, but that which was drawn out of
the reigns of Sol and Luna. Wilt thou
know what that means, Mercury in its
pondus and incombustibility is Gold fugi∣tive,
Page 18

our Body in its purity is called the
Philosophers Luna, being far more pure
than the imperfect Metals, and its Sulphur
also as pure as the Sulphur of Sol, not that it
is indeed Luna, for it abides not in the fire.
Now in the composition of these three;
First, our common Mercury, and the two
Principles of our compound there inter∣cedes
the Ferment of Luna, out of which
though it be a Body, proceeds yet a spe∣ci•icated
odour: yea, and oft the Pon∣dus
of it is diminished: If the Compound
be much washt, after it is sufficiently
clean. So then, the Ferment of Sol and
Luna intercedes in our composition,
which Ferment begets an off-spring more
noble then it self a thousand fold; where∣as
shouldst thou work on our compound
body by a violent way of Salts, thou
shouldst have the Mercury, by far less
noble then the Body, the Sulphur of the
Body being separated, and not exalted
by such a progress.

Page 19
STAVE XI.
In the said Book the Philosopher speaketh also,
Therein if it please Your Highness for to read,
Of divers Sulphurs, and especially of two,
And of two Mercuries joyned to them in∣deed,
Whereby he doth true understanders lead,
To the knowledge of the Principles which be only true,
Both Red, Moist, Pure, and White, as I have espied,
Which be nevertheless found but of very few.
WE now come to the Third Conclusi∣on,
which is, that among all Metal∣line
and Mineral Sulphurs there are only
Two that belong to our Work; which
Two have their Mercuries essentially uni∣ted
with them: This is the truth of our
secrets, though we (to seduce the un∣wary)
do seem to aver the contrary; for
do not think that (because we do insinu∣ate
two ways, therefore) we really mean
Page 20

as we say, for verily (as witnesseth Rip∣ley,)
There is no true Principle but one,
nor have we but one matter, nor but one
way of working upon that matter, nor
but one regimen of heat, and one linear
way of proceeding.

These two Sulphurs as they are Prin∣ciples
of our Work, they ought to be
Homogeneal, for it is only Gold Spiritual
that we seek; First White, then Red,
which Gold is no other then that which
the vulgar see, but they know not the
hidden Spirit that is in it. This Principle
wants nothing but composition, and this
composition must be made with our other
crude white Sulphur, which is nothing
but Mercury vulgar, by frequent cohoba∣tion
of it upon our Hermaphroditical bo∣dy,
so long till it become a fiery water.

Know therefore, that Mercury hath
in it self a Sulphur, which being un-active,
our Art is to multiply in it a living active
Sulphur, which comes out of the loins of
our Hermaphroditieal body, whose Fa∣ther
is a Metal, and his Mother a Mine∣ral;
Take then the most beloved Daugh∣ter
of Saturn, whose Arms are a Circle Ar∣gent,
Page 21

and on it a Sable Cross on a Black
Field, which is the signal note of the
great world, espouse her to the most war∣like
God, who dwells in the house of A∣ries,
and thou shalt find the Salt of Na∣ture,
with this Salt acuate thy water, as
thou best knowest, and thou shalt have
the Lunary bath in which the Sun will
be amended.

And in all truth I assure thee, that al∣though
thou hadst our Body Mercuriali∣zed
(without the addition of Mercury,
or of the Mercury of any of the Metals)
made per se, that is, without the addition
of Mercury, it would not be in the least
profitable unto thee, for it is our Mercury
only, which hath a Celestial form and
power, which it receives, not only, nor
so much from the Compound Body or
Principles, as from the Fermental virtue
which proceeds from the composition of
both the Body and the Mercury, by which
is produced a wonderful Creature: So
then let all thy care be to marry Sulphur
with Sulphur, that is our Mercury which
is impregnated, which Sulphur must be
espoused with our Sol, then hast thou two
Page 22
Sulphurs married, and two Mercuries of
one off-spring, whose Father is the Sun,
and Moon the Mother.

The Fourth Conclusion makes all per∣fectly
plain which hath been said before;
namely, that these two Sulphurs are, the
one most pure Red Sulphur of Gold, and
the other of most pure clean White Mer∣cury.

These are our two Sulphurs; the one
appears a coagulated Body, & yet carries
its Mercury in its belly: the other is in
all its proportions true Mercury, yet very
clean, and carries its Sulphur within its
self, though hidden under the form and
fluxibility of Mercury.

Sophisters are (here) in a Labyrinth,
for because they are not acquainted with
Metalline love, they work in things al∣together
heterogeneal,; or if they work
upon Metalline Bodies, they yet either
joyn Males with Males, or else Females
with Females, or else they work on each
alone; or else they take Males which are
charged with natural inabilities, and Fe∣males
whose Matrix is vitiated. Thus by
their own inconsideration they frustrate
Page 23

their own hopes, and then cast the blame
upon the Art, when as indeed it is only
to be imputed to their own folly, in not
understanding the Philosophers.

I know many pitiful Sophisters do dote
on many Stones, Vegetable, Animal, and
Mineral; and some to those add the fiery
Angelical, Paradaical Stone, which they
call a Wonder-working Essence; and
because the mark they aim at is so great,
the ways also by which they would attain
their scope, they make also agreeable,
that is a double way; One way they call
Via Humida, the other they call Via Sic∣ca,
(to use their languages:) The latter
way is the Labyrinthian path, which is
fit only for the great ones of the earth to
tread in; the other the Daedalean Path,
an easie way of small cost for the poor of
the world to enterprize.

But this I know, and can testifie, that
there is but one way, and but only one
Regimen, no more colours than ours;
and what we say or write otherwise, is
but to deceive the unwary: For if every
thing in the world ought to have its pro∣per
causes, there cannot be any one end
Page 24

which is produced from two wayes of
working on distinct Principles.

Therefore we protest, and must again
admonish the Reader, that (in our for∣mer
writings) we have concealed much,
by reason of the two ways we have insi∣nuated,
which we will briefly touch;
There is one Work of ours, which is the
Play of Children, and the Work of Women,
and that is Decoction by the Fire; and
we protest that the lowest degree of this
our work, is, that the matter be stirred
up, and may hourly circulate without fear
of breaking of the Vessel, which for this
reason ought to be very strong; but our
lineal Decoction is an Internal Work,
which advances every day & hour, and
is distinct from that of outward heat, and
therefore is both invisible and insensible.
In this our work, our Diana is our body
when it is mixed with the water, for then
all is called the Moon; for Laton is whi∣tened,
and the Woman bears rule: our
Diana hath a wood, for in the first days
of the Stone, our Body after it is whiten∣ed
grows vegetably. In this wood are
at the last found two Doves; for about
Page 25

the end of three weeks the Soul of the
Mercury ascends with the Soul of the dis∣solved
Gold; these are infolded in the
everlasting Arms of Venus, for in this sea∣son
the confections are all tincted with a
pure green colour; These Doves are cir∣culated
seaven times, for in seaven is
perfection, and they are left dead, for
they then rise and move no more; our
Body is then black like to a Crows Bill,
for in this operation all is turned to Pow∣der,
blacker than the blackest. Such
passages as these we do oftentimes use
when we speak of the Preparation of our
Mercury; and this we do to deceive the
simple, and it is also for no other end
that we confound our operations, spea∣king
of one, when we ought to speak
of another; For if this Art were but
plainly set down, our operations would
be contemptible even to the foolish.
Therefore believe me in this, that be∣cause
our works are truly natural, we
therefore do take the liberty to confound
the Philosophers work with that which
is purely Natures work, that so we
might keep the simple in ignorance con∣cerning
Page 26

our true Vinegre, which being
unknown, their labour is wholly lost.

Let me then (for a close) say only thus
much; Take our Body which is Gold,
and our Mercury which is seven times
acuated by the marriage of it with our
Hermaphroditical body which is a Chaos,
and it is the splendor of the Soul of the
God Mars, in the Earth and water of
Saturn; mix these two in such a Pondus
as Nature doth require: in this mixture
you have our invisible Fires, for in the
Water, or in the Mercury is an active
Sulphur or Mineral Fire, and in the Gold
a dead, passive, but yet actual Sulphur;
Now when that Sulphur of the Gold is
stirred up and quickned, there is made
between the Fire of Nature which is in
the Gold and the Fire against Nature,
which is in the Mercury, a Fire partly
of the one, and partly of the other, for
it partakes of both; and by these two
Fires thus united into one, is caused
both Corruption (which is Humiliation)
and Generation, (which is Glorification
and Perfection.) Now know that God
only governs this way of the Internal
Page 27

Fire, Man being ignorant of the progress
thereof, only by his Reason beholding
its operations, he is able to discern that
it is hot; that is, that it doth perform the
actions of heat, which is Decoction. In
this Fire there is no Sublimation, for Sub∣limation
is an Exaltation; But this Fire
is such an Exaltation, that it is Perfecti∣on
it self, and that beyond it is no pro∣gress.

All our Work then is only to multiply
this Fire, that is, to circulate the Body,
so long until the Virtue of the Sulphur
be augmented. Again, this Fire is an in∣visible
Spirit, and therefore not having
Dimensions as neither above nor below,
but every where in the Sphere of the
activity of our Matter in the Vessel; So
that though the material visible substance
do sublime and ascend by the action of
the Elemental heat, yet this Spiritual
Virtue is always as well in that which
subsides in the bottom, as in that which
is in the upper part of the Vessel. For
it is as the Soul in the Body of Man,
which is every where at the same time,
and yet bounded or terminated in none.

Page 28

This is the Ground of one Sophism of
ours, (viz.) when we say, that in this
true Philosophical Fire there is no Subli∣mation;
for the Fire is the Life, and the
Life is a Soul, which is not at all subject
to the dimensions of Bodies: Hence also
it is, that the opening of the Glass, or
cooling of the same during the time of
Working, kills the Life or Fire that is in
this secret Sulphur, and yet not one Grain
of the matter is lost. The Elemental Fire
then is that which any Child knows how
to kindle and govern, but it is the Phi∣losopher
only that is able to discern the
true inward Fire, for it is a wonderful
thing which acts in the Body, yet is no
part of the Body. Therefore the Fire is
a Coelestial Virtue, it is uniformed; that
is, it is always the same until the period
of its Operation is come; and then be∣ing
come to perfection, it acts no more,
for every Agent, when the end of its
action is come, then rests.

Remember then, that when we speak
of our Fire which sublimes not, that thou
do not mistake, and think that the moi∣sture
of the Compound which is within
Page 29

the Glass, ought not to Sublime, for that
it must do uncessantly; but the Fire that
sublimes not is the Metalline love, which
is above, and below, and in all places
alike. Now then for a close to all that
hath been said, learn, and be well advi∣sed
what matter you take in hand, for
an evil Crow lays an evil Egg, as the
Proverb hath it; Let thy Seed be pure,
and thy Matrix also pure, then shalt thou
see a Noble Off-spring: Let the Fire
without be such, as in which our Con∣fections
may play to and fro uncessantly,
and this (in a few days) will produce
that which thou most longest for, the
Crows Bill. Continue then thy Decocti∣on,
and in an hundred and thirty days
thou shalt see the White Dove, and in
ninety days more the Sparkling Cheru∣bim.

Page 30
STAVE XII.
And these Two things be best, he addeth anon,
For him that worketh the Alchymy to take:
Our Gold and our Silver therewith to make all one,
Wherefore I say, who will our Pearl and Ruby make,
The said Principles look that he not for∣sake:
For at the beginning, if the Principles be true;
And if so be by craft he can them also take,
In th'end truly his work he shall not rue.
THus come we to the last Conclusion,
which is, that if a Mans Operations
be Regular, and his Principles true, his
end will be certain, (viz.) the Mastery.

O Fools and Blind that do not consi∣der
how each thing in the world hath his
proper Cause and Progress in Operation;
Think you, if a Seaman should with a
gallant Coach, intend to Sail to any place
beyond Sea, he would not find his at∣tempt
Page 31

to be foolish; Or if with a Ship
gallantly furnished, he should Row at
Random, he may not sooner stumble on
an infortunate Rock, then arrive at the
golden Coast: Such fools are they who
seek our secret in trivial matters, and
yet hope to find the Gold of Ophir.

For the more exact Guiding of your Pra∣ctice, take notice of these Twenty Rules following.
Rule I.
Whatever any Sophister may suggest
unto you, or you may read in any So∣phistical
Author; yet let none take you
from this ground, (viz.) That as the end
you look for is Gold: so let Gold be
the subject on which you work, and
none other.

Rule II.
Let none deceive you with telling
you, that our Gold is not common, but
Philosophical; for common Gold is dead,
which is true: But as we order it, there
is made a quickening of it, as a grain of
Corn in the Earth is quickened.

Page 32

So then in our work, after six Weeks,
Gold that was dead, becomes quick, li∣ving,
and spermatical; and in our com∣position,
it may be called Our Gold, be∣cause
it is joyn'd with an Agent that will
certainly quicken it: So a Condemned
Man, is called a Dead Man, though at
present living.

Rule III.
Besides Gold, which is the Body or
Male, you must have another Sperm,
which is the Spirit and Soul; or Female,
and this is Mercury, in Flux and Form
like to common Argent Vive, yet more
clean and pure.

There are many, who instead of Mer∣cury,
will have strange Waters or Liquors,
which they stile by the name of Philo∣sophical
Mercury; Be not deceived by
them, for what a Man sows, that he must
look to reap: If thou shalt sow thy Bo∣dy
in any Earth, but that which is Me∣talline
and Homogeneal to it; thou shalt
instead of a Metalline Elixir, reap an
unprofitable Calx, which will be of no
value.

Page 33
Rule IV.
Our Mercury is in substance one with
common Argent Vive, but far different
in Form; For it hath a Form Coelestial,
Fiery, and of excellent Virtue: and this
is the Nature which it receives by our
Artificial Preparation.

Rule V.
The whole Secret of our Preparation,
is, that thou take that Mineral which is
next of kin to Gold, and to Mercury; Im∣pregnate
this with Volatile Gold, which
is found in the reins of Mars, with this
purifie your Mercury until seaven times
are past, then it is fitted for the Kings
Bath.

Rule VI.
Yet know, that from seaven times to
ten, the Mercury is made better and bet∣ter,
and is more active, being by each
Preparation acuated by our true Sulphur;
which if it exceed in number of Prepa∣rations,
becomes too fiery; which in∣stead
of dissolving the Body, will Coa∣gulate
it self.

Page 34
Rule VII.
This Mercury thus acuated, is after to be
distilled in a Glass retort twice or thrice;
and that for this reason, because some
Atoms of the Body may be in it, which
were insensibly left in the Preparation
of the Mercury, afterwards it is to be
cleansed well with Vinegar and Sal-armo∣niack,
then is it fit for the work.

Rule VIII.
Chuse your Gold for this work pure
and clean from any mixture: if it be not
so when you buy it, make it so by
Purgation; then let it be made fine, ei∣ther
by Filing, Malleating, Calcining
with Corrosives, or any other way, by
which it may be made most subtile.

Rule IX.
Now come to your mixture, in which
take of the aforesaid Body so chosen and
prepared, one Ounce of Mercury, as is
above taught animated, two Ounces or
three at the most, mix them in a Marble
which may be warmed so hot as water
will heat it; grind both together till they
be well incorporated, then wash the mix∣ture
Page 35

with Vinegar and Salt till it be very
pure; And lastly, Dulcifie it with warm
water, and dry it carefully.

Rule X.
Know now, that whatever we say out
of Envy, our way is none other, and
we protest, and will protest, that neither
We, nor any of the Antients knew any
other way; for it is impossible that our
secret can be wrought by any other Prin∣ciples,
or any other disposition then this.
Our Sophism lies only in the two kinds
of Fire in our work: the Internal secret
Fire, which is Gods Instrument, hath no
qualities perceptible to man, of that Fire
we speak often, and seem yet to speak
of the External heat; and hence arise
among the unwary many Errours. This
is our Fire which is graduated, for the
External heat, is almost linear all the
work, to the white work, it is one with∣out
alteration, save that in the seaven
first days we keep the heat a little slack
for certainty and security sake, which
an experienced Philosopher need not do.

But the Internal governing heat is in∣sensibly
Page 36

graduated hourly, and by how
much that is daily vigorated by the con∣tinuance
of Decoction, the Colours are
altered, and the Compound maturated:
I have unfolded a main knot unto you,
take heed of being insnared here again.

Rule XI.
Then you must provide a Glass Tun,
in which you may perfect your work,
without which you could never do any
thing; Let it be either Oval or Spheri∣cal,
so big in reference to your Com∣pound,
that it may hold about twelve
times the quantity of it within its Sphere,
let your Glass be thick and strong, clear,
and free of flaws, with a neck about a
Span or Foot long; In this Egg put your
matter, sealing the neck carefully, with∣out
flaw, or crack, or hole, for the least
vent will let out the subtile Spirit, and
destroy the work.

You may know the exact Sealing of
your Glass thus, when it is cold, put the
neck where it is sealed, into your mouth,
and suck strongly; if there be the least
vent, you will draw out the Air, that is
Page 37

in the Vial, into your mouth, which
when you take the Glass from your
mouth, is again suckt into the Glass with
a hissing, so that your ear may perceive
the noise; this is an undoubted tryal.

Rule XII.
You must then provide your self with
a Furnace, by wise men called an Atha∣nor,
in which you may accomplish your
work; nor will any one serve in your
first work; But such a one in which you
may give a heat obscurely red at your
pleasure, or lesser, and that in its highest
degree of heat, it may endure twelve
hours at the least.

This if you would obtain; Observe,
First, that your nest be no bigger then
to contain your dish with about an Inch
vacancy at the side where the Vent-hole
of your Athanor, is for the Fire to play.

Secondly, Let your Dish be no bigger
then to hold one Glass with about an
inch thickness of Ashes between the Glass
and side, remembring the word of the
Philosopher, One Glass, One Thing, One
Furnace; for such a Dish standing with
Page 38

the bottom level to the vent-hole, which
in such a Furnace ought to be but one,
about three Inches Diameter, sloping up∣wards,
will with the stream of Flame,
which is always playing to the top of the
Vessel, and round about the bottom, be
kept always in a glowing heat.

Thirdly, If your Dish be bigger, your
Furnace vent must be within a third part,
or a fourth as big as your Platter is Di∣ameter,
else it cannot be exactly, nor
continually heated.

Fourthly, If your Tower be above six
Inches square at the Fire-place, you are
out of proportion, and can never do
rightly as to the point of heat; For if
you cause it (if above that proportion)
to stream with flame, the heat will be too
big: And if it stream not, it will not
be big enough, or very hardly.

Fifthly, Let the top of your Furnace
be closed to an hole which may but just
serve for casting in of Coals about three
Inches Diameter or Square, which will
keep down the heat powerfully.

Page 39
Rule XIII.
These things thus ordered, set in your
Glass with your matter, and give Fire as
Nature requires, easie, not too violent;
beginning there where Nature left. Now
know, that Nature hath left your Mate∣rials
in the Mineral Kingdom; therefore
though we take comparison from Vege∣tables
and Animals; Yet you must under∣stand
a Parallel in the Kingdom, in which
the Subject you would handle is placed:
As for Instance, if I should Analogize,
between the Generation of a Man, and
the Vegetation of a Vegetable, you must
not understand, as though the heat for
one, were to be measured by the other;
for we know, that in the ground Vege∣tables
will grow, which is not without
heat, which they in the Earth feel, even
in the beginning of the Spring; yet
would not an Egg be hatched in that
heat, nor could a man feel any warmth,
but rather to him a numbing cold.

Since then you know that your work
appertains all to the Mineral Kingdom;
you must know what heat is fit for Mi∣neral
Bodies; and may be called a gentle
Page 40

heat, and what violent; First, now con∣sider,
where Nature leaves you, not only
in the Mineral Kingdom, but in it to
work on Gold and Mercury, which are
both incombustible: Yet Mercury being
tender, will break all Vessels, if the Fire
be over extreme; Therefore though it
be incombustible, and so no Fire can hurt
it, yet also it must be kept with the Male
Sperm in one Glass, which if the Fire be
too big, cannot be, and by consequence
the work cannot be accomplished. So
then from the degree of heat that will
keep Lead or Tin constantly molten, and
higher, so high as the Glass will endure
without danger of breaking, is a tempe∣rate
heat; and so you begin your de∣grees
of heat according to the Kingdom
in which Nature hath left you.

As then the highest degree of heat
which the root of a Tree feels in the
bowels of the Earth; is not by far com∣parable
to the lowest degree of heat an
Animal hath; So the highest degree of
heat a Vegetable will endure without
burning, is too low for the first degree
of Mineral heat as to our Work.

Page 41
Rule XIV.
Know, that all your progress in this
Work is to ascend in Bus & Nubi, from
the Moon up to the Sun; that is in Nu∣bibus,
or in Clouds: Therefore I charge
thee to sublime in a continual vapour,
that the Stone may take Air, and live.

Rule XV.
Nor is this enough, but for to attain
our permanent Tincture, the water of
our Lake must be boyled with the Ashes
of Hermes Tree; I charge thee then to
boyl night and day without ceasing,
that in the troubles of the stormy Sea,
the Heavenly Nature may ascend, and
the Earthly descend.

For verily, if we did not Boyl, we
would never name our work Decoction,
but Digestion; For where the Spirits only
Circulate silently, and the Compound
below moves not by an Ebullition, that
is only properly to be named Digestion.

Page 42
Rule XVI.
Be not over hasty, expecting Harvest
too soon, or the end soon after the be∣ginning:
For if thou be patiently sup∣ported,
in the space of fifty days at the
farthest, thou shalt see the Crows Bill.

Many (saith the Philosophers) do ima∣gine
our Solution to be an easie work;
But how hard it is, they can only tell,
who have tryed and made Experience:
Seest thou not a Grain of Corn, sow it,
and after three days thou shalt only see
it swell'd; which being dry'd, is the
Corn it was before: Yet thou canst not
say it was not cast into its due Matri•x;
for the Earth is its true place, but only
it wanted its due time to Vegetate.

But things of an harder Kernel lie in
the ground a far longer time, as Nuts
and •lumb stones, for each thing hath
its season; And this is a true sign of a
natural Operation, that it stays its sea∣son,
and is not Precipitate: Dost think
then, that Gold the most solid Body in
the world? will change its Form in a short
time; Nay, thou must wait and wait un∣til
Page 43

about the 40th. day utter blackness be∣••ns
to appear; when thou seest that,
••en conclude thy Body is destroy'd, that
〈◊〉, made a living Soul, and thy Spirit is
•ead, that is Coagulated with the Body;
•ut till this sign of Blackness, both the
•old and the Mercury retain their Forms
•nd Natures.

Rule XVII.
Beware that thy Fire go not out, no
•ot for a moment, so as to let thy Mat∣•er
be cold, for so Ruine of the Work
•ill certainly follow..

By what has been said, thou mayst ga∣••er,
that all our work is nothing else
•ut an uncessant boyling of thy Com∣••ound
in the first degree of liquifying
•eat, which is found in the Metalline
•ingdom, in which the Internal Vapours
••all go round about thy matter, in
•hich fume it shall both die, and be re∣••ived.

Rule XVIII.
Know, that when the White appears,
which will be about the end of Five
Months, that then the accomplishment
Page 44

of the White Stone approacheth; Re∣joyce
then, for now the King hath over∣come
Death, and is rising in the East
with great Glory.

Rule XIX.
Then continue your Fire until the Co∣lours
appear again, then at last you shall
see the fair Vermillion, the Red Poppy•
Glorifie God then, and be thankful.

Rule XX.
Lastly, you must boyl this Stone in the
same water, in the same proportion, with
the same Regimen, (only your Fire shal•
then be a little slacker) and so you shal•
increase Quantity and Goodness at your
pleasure.

Now the only God the Father of light, bring you to see this Regeneration of the light, and make 〈◊〉 to rejoyce with him for ever hereafter in light•Amen.
AN ADVERTISEMENT.
THis Author having wrote many Ex∣cellent
Pieces on this Subject, not so
much to manifest himself an Adept (a•
many have done) as to benefit the World•
by his Writings, himself professing, that

••though the rest of his Adept Brethren
•ad (as we may say enviously) sworn se∣••ecie
(contrary to their received Maxim
•f doing all the good they may with this
•rge Talent so long as they live, and
••nger if it might be,) yet had not he so
•worn, though they supposed it; for he
•ad as himself confesseth, an extraor∣•inary
impulse of mind, to be helpful to all
••ncere searchers of this secret Art, (to use
•is own words) and to stretch out his hand
〈◊〉 such as are behind. Seeing therefore,
•hat it was the Authors own desire to
•enefit the World by his Labours, and
•hat he gave his consent to Mr. Starkey for
Printing his Pieces, as appears in his Pre∣face
to the Marrow of Alchimy; I know no
reason wherefore his Writings should lie
conceal'd any longer: And great pity it
was that Mr. Starkey did separate this Au∣thor's
Commentarie upon Sir George Rip∣ley's
12 Gates, which he did as I was in∣formed
by one unto whom he gave the
very Book from which he confessed he
had cut the last Six Gates; the Person
demanding the reason wherefore he cut
them in sunder: he answered, that the


World was unworthy of them; which ne∣vertheless
he promis'd to give that Person
a Transcript of, but did not, which is the
reason that they cannot yet be found; the
loss of which is very much lamented▪
Wherefore if any Gentleman hath them
by him, or any other piece of this Author,
It is humbly desired that they will send
them to the Pellican in Little Britain,
London, that they may be Printed with
the first Six Gates, which are now in the
Press: And that I may not be wanting to
contribute what I can for the discovery of
this Author's Works, I here make bold to
present the Reader with a Catalogue of
such Pieces as are noted to be writ by
this Author under the disguised name of
Aeyraeneus Philalethes, part whereof are
set down by Mr. Starkey in his Preface a∣forenamed,
and part are mentioned by
the Author himself, with several others,
which he wrote (as he saith) for his own
recreation, and afterwards burn'd; which
Author is acknowledged by all hands to
be an English-man, and an Adept & sup∣posed
to be yet living, and travelling,
and about the age of 55 years, but his
Name is not certainly known.

Page 47
These Books in this Catalogue were writ∣ten by Eirenaeus Philalethes, whereof these 15. following are Printed.
〈◊〉INtroitus apertus ad oc•lusum Regis Palatium, Amst. 1667. This is Re. printed in Ger∣many, with the Collection of Books called Mu∣saeum Hermeticum of the Edition 1677. in 4o
〈◊〉—Idem in English, called Secrets Reveal'd, Printed at London 1669. in 8o. being much more perfect than the Latine Editions.
〈◊〉 The Marrow of Alchymy, in two Poems or Parts, in English Verse, Lond. 1654. & 1655.
〈◊〉 Ars Metallorum Metamorphosews, Amst. 1668. in 8o. These are likewise in the afore∣said Edition of the Musaeum Hermeticum.
A brief introduction to Ruby Celeste, Amst. 1668. in 8 o . These are likewise in the afore∣said Edition of the Hermetic Museum.
Source of Chemical Philosophy, Amst. 1668. in 8 o . These are likewise in the afore∣said Edition of the Hermetic Museum.
〈◊〉 A Methodical Account of the Three Medicines of Gebri, Lond. 1678. in 8 o .
〈◊〉 Vade-Mecum Philosophicum, or a short handbook to Sophia's Camp∣pum, Lond. 1678. in 8 o .
〈◊〉 Experiments concerning the preparation of the Sophic Mercury. London 1678. in 8 o .
〈◊〉 A Commentary or Exposition upon Sir. G. Ripley's Epistle to Edw. IV. King of England, Lond. 1678. in 8o.
〈◊〉—Idem upon Sir G. Ripley's Preface to his Compound of Alchymy, Lond. 1678. in 8o.

12.—Idem upon the first six Gates of his Compound of Alchymy, London 1678. in 8o.
13.—Idem upon the Recapitulation of his Compound of Alchymy, London 1678. in 8o.
14.—Idem upon his Vision, London 1678. in 8o.
15. Experiments for the Preparation of the Sophick Mercury, London 1678. in 8o.
These 13. following he wrote, but we cannot as yet find where the Copies are.
1. A Comment. or Exposition upon the last six Gates of Sir G. Ripley's Compound of Al∣chymy.
2.—Idem upon Sir G. Ripley's Erroneous Ex∣periments.
3.—Idem upon Sir G. Ripley's Wheel.
4.—Idem upon Arnold's Ʋltimum Testamentu•
5. Work of the Elixir of the Goldsmith and Silversmith.
6. A short way to a long life, or Alchymy Tr • ∣umphing.
7. Cabala Sapientum, or an Exposition upon the Hieroglyphicks of the Magi.
8. List of Deviant Errors in Chemistry •
9. List of the Most Important Authors in Chymic Art ••
10. An En•hiridion of Experiments, togethe• with a Diurnal of Meditations, in which we•• many Philosophical Receipts, declaring th•• whole Secret; with an Aenigma at the end.
11. Work Analysis.
12. A Clavis to his Works.
13. Comments or Expositions upon Flamm•• Artephius, and Sendivogius. But these thre• are rather Quaeried, then affirmed to be wrot•• by this Author.

AN
EXPOSITION
UPON
Sir GEORGE RIPLEY's
PREFACE.

Written by
Aeyrenaeus Philalethes, an Englishman, a Cosmopolitan.

[illustration]
LONDON,
Printed for William Cooper at the Pellican
in Little Britain. MDCLXXVII.


Page 1
An Exposition UPON THE PREFACE OF Sr GEORGE RIPLEY, Canon of Bridlington.
TO pass over his Prologue
which is Adhortatory
to the desirously studi∣ous
of this Art, and
the beginning of the
Preface, which is his
Address to God, who
is the only Giver of Wisdom, to bestow
upon him true Understanding, that he
might lead his sinful Life to the glory of
him, being over-swayed from what he
was naturally, by him who is the Foun∣tain
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Page 2

of all Goodness; I shall take up his
Pattern for a Precedent rather of Imita∣tion,
than a Subject of Exposition.

And first, as touching those who shall
bend themselves to this Science; Let
them resolve that they undertake a most
admirable piece of Work, in which
(though far be it that I should think that
God bestows upon any of us what we
enjoy for our own Merits, but of his free
Grace, yet withal) let me exhort any one
who shall set his Studies this way, to ad∣dress
himself to the Author and Fountain
of Goodness for his help, that he may
have grace to honour God in the use of
so great a Talent: For I perswade my
self, that whomever God shall appoint
to be Heir of such a Talent, that he will
give him a heart to improve it aright; or
else he will add to his Judgment for the
abuse of so great a Blessing.

For whoever shall be wanton and dis∣solute,
and live without the fear of God,
what may he not do with such an Art? un∣less
God restrain him, as certainly he will,
hiding this Secret from him, or making it
to him a snare and trap to betray his Life
Page 3

into the hands of covetous men of the
World, as many have found it by sad ex∣perience.
Therefore the Lord give both
me and thee that grace, that he may be
continually before our Eyes, The Alpha
and Omega of our Thoughts, Words and
Actions: Even so Am•n.

In the Beginning, when thou madest all of nought, a globous matter, and dark, un∣der confusion, by him the beginning, &c.
FIrst then cast thine Eyes upon the
Works of God, and behold that
work of his hands: Consider how the
glorious work of Creation was begun by
him, even by Christ, for whose sake this
very Science is communicated unto the
Sons of Men, as Bernardus Trevisan wit∣nesseth,
who in his Epistle to Thomas of
Bononia, saith of this work, That it is
done (Christi Gratia) for Christs sake.

Consider how out of one Mass the Lord
God by his powerful Command made all
things to appear that are in Heaven or in
Earth; the heavenly Bodies with their
Influences above, and the earthly Matter
Page 4

below; which by the Rotation of the
Heavens produce all sublunary products,
through the word of his Mouth.

Above all which and in all which God
is, he is the Maker and the Lord of all,
above all, blessed for ever, who hath
purchased to himself a People, and re∣deemed
them, and they shall reign with
him for ever and ever.

For as of one Mass was made all things, right so in our practice must it be.
APply all this to the work of this Ma∣stery
Analogically and Allegorical∣ly:
for as the Lord made all the works
which we see, so he did lay them all un∣der
his powerful word of Command, by
which they continue to be what they
are, and are carried with an uniform mo∣tion
to that first Pattern or Draught of
things.

Page 5
All our Secrets of one Image must spring.
AS then out of one mixed confused
Mass all things had an actual exist∣ence
according to their several kinds, so
out of one Image all these Secrets must
flow: Truth doth not consist in Hetero∣geneity,
but in Unity; for God is one,
and his works uniform; and the more
Noble any thing is, the nearer to Sim∣plicity.

As in Philosophers Books, whoso list to see.
TO this the Sentences of the Philoso∣phers
concur, as many as have truly
understood the Secret, as Morien often
and plentifully witnesseth, Geber, Tre∣visan,
and many others: The thing is but
one in kind, though two in number; and
though more things are used, yet till they
be all brought to an oneness of Nature,
they are not fit to enter into this work.

Page 6
Our Stone is called the Lesser World.
ANd therefore our Stone is resembled
to Man, who although he have a
Wife different from him in Sex, yet one
with him in kind; in which sence it is
called the Microcosm, or Less World:
for indeed, next to Man, who is the Image
of God, it is the true little System of the
Great World: I shall not particularize
here how, for in its place it will fall in
seasonably.

One and Three.
THis Stone is also called Trine or Tri∣nity
in Ʋnity, from the Homogenei∣ty
of the Matter, as Trevisan saith:
Our Stone is made of one Root, that is,
of two Mercurial Substances, &c. This
Trinity is discerned in the Components;
for first there is the Body, which is Sol▪
and the Water of Mercury, in which be∣sides
its Mercuriality, there is a spiritual
seed of Sulphur, which is the secret Fire.
This is the Trinity, these are called the
Page 7

Body, the Soul, and the Spirit; the Body
is the dead Earth, which increaseth not
without the celestial Vertue; the Spirit is
the Soul of our Air or Chameleon, which
is also of a two-fold composure, yet
made one inseparably; the Soul is the
Bond of Mercury, without which our
Fire never appears, nor can appear, for
it is naked, it inhabits the Fiery-Dra∣gon,
and it yields his Soul to the true Sa∣turnia,
and is embraced by it, and both
become one together, bearing the stamp
of the most High, even the Oriental Lu∣cifer,
the Son of the Morning: This Soul
is Chalyb's Magical Volatile, and very ten∣der,
the true Minera of Sol, out of which
Sol naturally proceeds, which I my self
know to be true, and have spoken of it
in my little Latin Treatise, called Introi∣tus
apertus ad occlusum Regis palatium:
This is true Sulphur, which is imbibed by
the Mercuriality of Saturnia, and notes
it with the Regal Signet, and being uni∣ted
and revived into a Mineral Water by
the Mediation of Diana's Doves, it is the
sharp Spirit which in the Water moves
the Body to putrefie. Thus is the Trinity
Page 8

proportionable, to wit, three Natures in
the first Mixture, the Work is carried an
end to perfect Complement distinctly, ac∣cording
to the Vertue of a Body, Soul, and
Spirit: for the Body would be never pe∣netrative,
were it not for the Spirit, nor
would the Spirit be permanent in its su∣per-perfect
Tincture, were it not for the
Body; nor could these two act one upon
another without the Soul, for the Spirit is
an invisible thing, nor doth it ever ap∣pear
without another Garment, which
Garment is the Soul. In this it exerciseth
its vertue: this Soul, as it is drawn from
the Saturnia, solid and dry, is named our
Air, or rather the Chameleon, which is
an airy Body, changing its hue accord∣ing
to every Object it beholds, so our Air
is of an astonishing Nature, out of which
I know all Metals may be drawn, yea
even Sol and Luna, without the Trans∣muting
Elixir, of which in my little La∣tine
Treatise (which was the Congest of
mine own experience) I spake fully.

This Air being dissolved into Water
Mineral, hath in it two of our Trinity
united so really that in a short digestion
Page 9

the spiritual inhabiting invisible Sulphur
will without addition congeal the Mer∣cury
in which it is, and make a visible
congelated substance of Luna and then
Sol.

Thus this Trinity is indeed Ʋnity, one
being Gold mature, fixt, and digested in
act, the other Gold volatile, white, and
crude, yet (in posse) to be made most
fixt and solid by naked digestion. It is
not then a delusion that Philosophers
speak and write, for trust me (Viderunt
nudam sine veste Dianam; sciens loquor) I
know I speak true, which the Sons of Art
do know, and can testifie with me.

Magnesia also.
THis Stone is by the Philosophers
called their Magnesia, their Adrop,
&c. with many more names, and is in∣deed
their Stone in the first true mixture
of the true matter; for it is the true
seed, and will produce, with the co-ope∣ration
of external Fire, in a patient ex∣pectation
of the time of Nature, which
is not long to him that understands it.

Page 10
Of Sulphur and Mercury.
FOr that which is done by Nature in
many years and ages, in the bowels
of the Earth, decocting Mercury alone,
without addition; Art, to make the work
short, first impregnates Mercury with a
spiritual seed of Sulphur, by which it be∣comes
powerful in the dissolution of
Metals, and then adds to it mature Sul∣phur,
by which the work is shortened;
and out of these two Parents of one Root
is brought forth a Noble Son of a Regal
Off-spring, that is not simply Gold, but
our Elixir, ten thousand times more pre∣cious.

Proportionate by Nature most perfectly.
YEt all this Work of the Artist is on∣ly
to help Nature; we can do no
more, yea we have professed and will
profess, that we do only administer unto
Nature herein: for all the Works of God
are intire, we can but behold them and
admire them; and therefore we seek our
Page 11

Principals where Nature is, and amend
Nature in its own Nature. Nor do we
make the simple believe, which is the
Trade of Sophisters, that we by our Ex∣tractions
and Manual Operations upon
Vegetables, Minerals, Urines, Hair, or
the like, intend to make our so highly
prized Elixir; but out of such things in
which Nature hath put it, we by Art do
make it appear by revealing what was
hidden, and hiding what was manifest.

But many one marvelleth, and marvel may, and museth on such a marvellous thing.
WHereas those who work upon
other matters than the true, do
betray their ignorance herein most foully,
that they do not consider the possibility
of Nature, but work after their Fancy;
as though out of combustible substances
filthy in their nature, and made up of
Heterogeneities, might be produc'd a
pure perfect Metallick Substance, by rea∣son
of its unseverable Unity invincible,
and by vertue of its transcendent Excel∣lency
cleansing and fixing all leporous and
Page 12

fugitive bodies in the Mineral Kingdom,
and reducing them to the Anatical pro∣portion
of perfectly digested Sol or Lu∣na,
according to the quality of the Me∣dicine.
When therefore their Principles
are not sound, their Conclusion is always
deceitful, and then they not knowing
Nature in her Operation, but interpre∣ting
the words of the crafty and envious
Philosophers, according to the Letter,
do stand admiring at the Unconformity
of their Work to the Promises of the
Philosophers, at least as they understand
their Books; they admire what this Stone
is, if it be a Truth, or a Conceit; and
why they (as well as any) do not attain it
if possible: Such meditations usually fill
the minds of unsuccessful Alchymists, who
though they be (as they esteem them∣selves)
very Judicious, yet cannot stum∣ble
upon this unhappy Stone.

Page 13
What is our Stone, &c.
THey marvel at the uncouth difficulty
of the thing, nor can they almost
tell what to judge of what they read;
forasmuch as all Philosophers say it is a
very easie thing.

For Fowls and Fishes to us do it bring, eve∣ry Man it hath: And it is in every place, in thee, in me, &c.
ANd in very deed the Antient Wise
Men have so written, and do still
write the same; as to wit, That it is
found in a Dunghil, according to Morien▪
and for the easiness of the charge, they all
write plentifully; so that in respect of
time and cost, Artephius and Flammel say
it is but the play of Children and work
of Women; and therefore one Excel∣lent
Philosopher, writing of this Maste∣ry,
titles his Treatise, Ludus Puerorum;
that is, Childrens Play.

Page 41
To this I answer, That Mercury it is I wis.
YEt trust me, though the wise men
thus write, and it be true, there is
notwithstanding something to be added
to their Sentence, according as the Au∣thor
of Novum Lumen well observed, as
namely, That this Art is easie to him that
understands it, as Artephius plainly ex∣presseth;
but to him that is ignorant of
it, there is nothing can appear so hard;
The Wise Man, saith Sendivogius, finds it
in a Dunghil, but the Fool cannot believe
that it is in Gold. I for my part (through
the great mercy of God to me an un∣worthy
and unthankful Creature) I know
the Art to be true, and not that only, but
also very easie; and I wonder that men
of so great parts have studied for it so
long in vain; only this I am confident of,
it is the gift of God; nor is it in him that
willeth, nor in him that runneth, but in God
that giveth mercy: In which respect I am
bold, to the glory of God, to confess that
I have the Art, and have Natures Opera∣tions
in these so hidden Secrets, before
Page 15

mine eyes at this present writing, which
I see hourly with admiration of the infi∣nite
Glory, in the beholding of such a
great Glory in the Creatures, which, trust
me, will ravish the Beholder, to see such
a despised Infant as our Mercury is, to
grow into so strong a Heroe, which the
World cannot purchase.

But not the Common, called Quick-silver by name.
YEt the difficulty is not over when
once it is known that the whole
Secret consisteth in Mercury; for what
more frequent among the Sophisters than
to cry, Our Mercury, &c. and yet in the
Work of Nature they are as blind as
Moles? The cause is, for that Nature
hath produced a Mineral Juice in the
bowels of the Earth, which doth answer
to most of the Philosophical Descriptions
of their Water; as namely, that it is mine∣ral,
quick, current, without humectation,
ponderous, and the like; which when
the vulgar Alchymists read, they apply it
to this naughty Mercury, which for in∣ward
Page 16

Qualities hath nothing in it like
ours.

Some there are, who trusting to the
Sentence of most of the Wise Men who
have written concerning this Art, do re∣ject
Mercury vulgar in word, when as in∣deed
they dote as much upon it as others,
whenas by their mock-purgations they
handle Mercuries divers ways by Subli∣mation,
Precipitation, Calcination Ma∣nual,
even to a black substance, like to
Soot or Lamp-black, by distillation from
sundry Faeces, after grinding with Vine∣gar,
by Calcination with Waters-fort,
by Lotions innumerable, changing Mer∣cury
into sundry forms, and after quick∣ning
him: By all which Operations they
imagine themselves secure of the Secret
of our Mercury, whenas all such ways
indeed are but Sophisms; and yet Mer∣cury
so abused is one and the same vulgar
Mercury.

So that upon this Rock more have
stumbled than upon any other, & yet will
stumble, till they know how to distinguish
our Mercury from Common, and our pre∣parations
from that of the vulgar Sophi∣sters,
Page 17

which have no likeness one to
another.

But Mercury, without which nothing be∣ing is.
FOr our Mercury is Essential and Radi∣cal
to our Body, and partakes of the
nature of it intirely, and therefore it is
said to be that Mercury without which no∣thing
is; for all things are distinguished
by Philosophers by three Principles, (al∣though
some Simples have not three, but
only by Analogy) among which the most
essential is Mercury, for the humidity of
all things concrete is called their Mercury,
which is most intire to all things, foras∣much
as all things owe their beginning
unto Water.

So then as the proper specifick Mercury
of all things is so Essential unto them
that nothing is without it, so our Mer∣cury
is so consubstantial with our Body,
that it is one in kind with that Mercury of
which it was by coagulation concrete,
which vulgar Mercury is not; and there∣fore
the Body is incrudate by this Mercu∣ry,
Page 18

and sends forth its Seed by mixture
with it, through the co-operation of re∣quisite
temperate external heat.

All Philosophers record and truly sain the same.
TRuly this I could confirm by infi∣nite
Testimonies of Philosophers,
since there never wrote any who was in∣deed
a true Artist, but he hath affirmed
the same: Geber, Artephius, Haly, Ro••∣nus,
Flammel, Sendivogius, the Author of
the Rosary, Trevisan, with many others,
which would be very tedious to name.

So that indeed this Work of mine I
wrote not because enough hath not been
written before, for I do but eccho to the
Voice of all Philosophers, who have left
upon record such clear Testimonies of
the co-operation of Art and Nature here∣in,
that if Wit were capable of this at∣tainment,
the Art would have been com∣mon
ere now; and I do verily admiringly
adore the Wisdom of God herein, that an
Art so true, so natural, so easie, so much
desired and sought after, should yet •e
Page 19

so rarely found, that the generality of
Men, Learned and Unlearned, do laugh
at it as a Fable: it is therefore most cer∣tainly
the Gift of God, who is and ever
will be the Dispenser of it, according to
his good pleasure.

But simple Searchers putteth them in blame, saying they hid it.
MOst injurious are they therefore to
the well-deserving Philosophers,
who because they cannot understand
their Writings, and through the mis-un∣derstanding
of the possibility of Nature,
do commit foul mistakes in their operati∣ons,
and therefore reap a ridiculous Har∣vest,
they then blame the falsity of Au∣thors,
or at least accuse their difficult wri∣ting,
not considering that Philosophers
owe them nothing, and whatever they
write for the information of the studious,
it is not of debt, nor yet of Covetous∣ness,
for they possess the greatest Trea∣sure
in the World; nor lastly of Ambiti∣on,
for many suppress their names: it is
of Love therefore, and of desire to be
Page 20

helpful to the Studious; which Love to
requite with reproaches, is a ••ken of
great ingratitude.

Moreover, it is to be understood that
the most wise GOD hath a ruling hand
herein, and all Sons of Art have their
Commission as it were given them; they
write and teach according to that per∣mission
which the Creator of all things
hath given them. I may speak it experi∣mentally,
that when my self have had
one intent, I have been so over-swayed
with unpremeditated thoughts in the ve∣ry
writing, that I have taken notice of
the immediate hand of God therein, by
which I have been carried beyond what I
intended.

And truly it is not our intent to make
the Art common to all kind of men, we
write to the deserving only; intending
our Books to be but as Way-marks to
such as shall travel in these paths of Na∣ture,
and we do what we may to shut
out the unworthy: Yet so plainly we
write, that as many as God hath appoint∣ed
to this Mastery shall certainly under∣stand
us, and have cause to be thankful
Page 21

unto us for our faithfulness herein. This
we shall receive from the Sons of this
Science, whatever we have from others:
therefore our Books are intended for the
former, we do not write a word to the
latter.

But they be blame-worthy which be no Clerks, and meddle with Philosophy.
MOreover, we write not our Books
for the information of the illi∣terate,
as though any vulgar mechanick
Distiller, Alchymist, or Sophister, should
readily carry away the Golden Fleece;
or as though any covetous man, who
makes Gain his utmost end, should rea∣dily
gather the Apples of the Hesperides;
nor yet that any, though Learned, should
by once or twice overly and slight read∣ing
(as the Dogs lap the Water of Nilus)
straight-way be made a Philosopher: Nay
verily, the majesty of this Science forbids
so great impiety; it is the gift of God, and
not of Men: Our Books are for those
who have been or intend to be conver∣sant
about the search of Nature; we hint
Page 22

the way; prayer to God and patient per∣sisting
in the use of means, must open
these Doors. Let therefore profound
Meditation, accompanied with the Bles∣sing
of God, Furnaces, Coals, Glasses,
and indefatigable pains, be thy Interpre∣ters,
and let them serve for Commenta∣ries
upon our Writings. So I did, so I
advise thee; and the Blessing of God at∣tend
all studious vertuous Searchers in
this way.

But though it Mercury be.
YEt is not the knot untied, nor diffi∣culties
overcome, when once a
man hath learned to sing this thredbare
Song in Philosophy, Est in Mercurio quic∣quid
quaerunt sapientes: for what Sophi∣ster
who cannot make so great a clatter
in these general terms as a son of Art?
the greatest difficulty is to know what
this Mercury is, that is so desirable and
effectual.

Page 23
Yet wisely understand wherein it is, and where thou shalt it seek.
THerefore let me advise every studious
Searcher of this hid Science, to con∣sider
warily with himself what he seeks
and would find; nor that only, but in
what he would find it: for trust me it is
not in this Science as some do imagine,
that our Arcanum may be made out of
any thing, nor yet out of any base thing:
But in the knowing of the true Princi∣ple,
consists the first true step to Perfe∣ction,
according to the Poet, Dimidium
facti qui bene coepit habet.

Else I counsel thee take not this work in hand.
BUt he who knows not this our Ocean
in which our Water hath its flux and
reflux, and our Fountain out of which
he may draw this Water for his use, let
him forbear this, as a most dangerous
Science, for he may only expect loss in it,
but no profit.

Page 24
For Philosophers flatter Fools with fair speech.
NOr let any expect comfortable Dire∣ction
in our Books, who know not
the true Matter, nor the true Keys by
which our Matter is brought forth from
darkness into the light; for verily though
we write for the inlightning of a son of
Art, yet also for the fatal blinding of all
such Owls and Bats who cannot behold
the light of the Sun, nor can indure the
splendor of our Moon. To such we pro∣pound
rare tricks, suiting to their sordid
fancy: to the covetous, an easie way
without expence, in an inconsiderable
time; to the lazy Book-men, a play,
without tedious toil; to the unstable,
rash, hasty multiplicity of Distillations.

But listen to me, for truly I will thee teach.
BUt to thee, supposing thy qualifica∣tions
to be Honesty, Secresie, Studi∣ousness
and Indefatigableness, we will
shew the Truth; yet so, that it may be
Page 25

hid from the Vulgar, yet plain enough to
an industrious attentive Reader.

Which is this Mercury most profitable.
PHilosophers have hidden much under
the Homonymium of Mercury, so that
it is no hard matter for those that peruse
their Books to mistake them; yea as ma∣ny
as God will have excluded from this
Art, shall certainly mistake.

For many things are by them named by
the name of Mercury, which are altoge∣ther
useless in this Mastery; and many
Processes have they deciphered which
themselves never did. I for my part shall
not tread in their metaphorical steps, but
shall herein candidly follow the path of
profound Ripley, whose Text I annex to
my Discourse as I go, because it is an
elaborate Piece, in excellent Method;
on whom I do not so much comment, for
I write mine own experimental Know∣ledge,
but rather intend this Treatise for
a Light to that excellent Light in Alchy∣my;
these Labours of mine being intire
of themselves: Only to help thee to my
Page 26

utmost, I have confined my Discourse to
his Method, which I might (as other Phi∣losophers
have done) have scattered here
and there confusedly.

Being to thee nothing deceiveable.
AS then I have chosen Ripley's Method
to follow, so will I imitate his Inge∣nuity,
and do solemnly profess not to be
deceiveable to thee in any thing, though
I shall not so unfold the Mysteries, that
bare reading shall suffice to shew the un∣veiled
Diana.

Know therefore assuredly, that when
the Philosophers say, That their Matter
is every where, &c. This they speak on∣ly
for the blinding of all such who ta∣king
the Philosophers meaning according
to the bare sound of their words, do
reap Trifles instead of Treasures. I shall
therefore let you understand that this
subject of the Philosophers is considered
either in reference to its Matter, or formal
Vertue; in reference to the former, it is a
concrete of Water, as all other Com∣pounds
are; in respect of the latter, it par∣ticipates
Page 27

of a Celestial Virtue, and that
in a high degree in both respects. It is
said to be in every place: for the origi∣nal
matter, which is Water, passeth
equally through the whole Family of
Concretes: and for the celestial Influ∣ence,
it is so universal that nothing is hid∣den
from the heat of it: so that indeed in
this sence it is said to be every where.
Moreover, the Stone being the System of
the great World, doth in some way or
other represent every thing which is or
can be perceived by man; I mean in re∣ference
to some or other operation, co∣lour
or quality, and therefore the Wise
have described it almost by all things ima∣ginable,
for to every thing in some or
other circumstance it hath resemblance.

It is more near in some things than in some.
YEt to speak properly for information,
and not to conceal the Secret, we
profess that there is but one kind in
which our Stone is found, and in number
two: understand me not as the Philoso∣pher
finds things in his first laborious Pre∣paration,
Page 28

for so one of the two subjects
which being of one kind enter the su∣pernatural
work of Generation of our
fiery Stone, I say our crude Sperm flows
from a Trinity of Substances in one Es∣sence,
of which two are extracted out of
the Earth of their Nativity by the third,
and then become a pure milky Virgin▪
like Nature, drawn from the Menstru•••
of our sordid Whore.

Take heed therefore what I to thee write.
ANd now I call God to witness that I will
shew you a great Mystery: our Stone
is in one part of a perfect nature, which
we would exalt into a more then most
perfect, and for this end we stand in need
of our true Fountain, which I have else∣where
described, and shall not now re∣peat:
This Fountain hath three Springs,
and these are three Witnesses which •e∣stifie
to the Artist of the truth of his pro∣ceedings;
these are the Spirit, the Wa∣ter,
and the Blood, and these three agree
in one; the Water is a Mercurial Bond,
which the Sophisters can behold so far as
Page 29

the outward shell reacheth, but the wise
man can behold his hidden secret Centre:
the Blood is of our Green Lyon, which
is indeed the greenest or rawest of the
three: for it hath no manner of Metal∣line
Sulphur, no not a grain, and there∣fore
is Totally Volatile, and it is
more raw than the common Water,
and yet it is called the Blood, for a most
secret reason, because it is the feat of the
Life, which is the Spirit, as Blood in man
is the seat of his Life; yea the Spirit by
this Soul of our Green Lyon, is made ma∣nifest,
and is united to it, so that though
it be very green or unripe, yet that inha∣bits
it, which is both pure and ripe, and
can and will digest it with the Water, and
make both become life with life: Now
the Spirit is nothing else but a Chaos, the
Wonder of the Wonders of God, which
every man almost hath, and knows it not,
because as it appears to the World it is
compact in a vile despised form; yet is it
so useful, that in humane Affairs none can
want it: to the Philosopher it appears
united to the Blood, that is, of our Green
Lyon, which truly is not a Lyon till the
Page 30

spirit be joyned with it, and then it is
made able to devour all Creatures of its
kind.

And these three agree in one, they
are not absolutely one, mark that; our
Fire is not of the matter, and yet it is
united with the matter, as if it were of
one form with it; and there is an agree∣ment
in one, though not a radical union;
for the spirit (which is the Fire) is sepa∣rable
from the Water and the Blood; and
then is our Lyon actually Green, but
ceaseth then to be our Lyon, but is the
true matter to multiply Emeraulds more
glorious than natural.

For if to thee Knowledge never come,
Therefore yet shalt thou me not twite.
ANd now indeed if any be ignorant, let
him be ignorant; I know not what
more to say, and not transgress the silence
of Pythagoras. I have told you that our
matter is two-fold, crude and fixed; the
fixed is by Nature perfected to our hands,
and we need only to have it made more
Page 31

then most perfect, which Nature alone
could never perform; nor is there any
thing that can thus exalt Tinctures, but
our dissolving Water, which I told you
floweth from three Springs; the one is a
common Well at which all draw, and of
which Water many use; this Well hath in
it a Saturnine drossiness, which make the
Waters unuseful; these frigid superflui∣ties
are purged by two other Springs,
through which the Water of this Well is
artificially caused to run: these Springs
make but one Well, whose Waters appear
dry, the humidity being sealed; the Well
it self is surrounded with an Arsenical
Wall, the slimy bottom abounds with the
First Ens of Mineral Salt and Sulphur,
which acuate the Water of the first Well,
whose primary quality is Coldness; be∣ing
thus acuated, it becomes so powerful
a Menstruum, and so pleasant to the Me∣tals,
that for its peculiar Vertue it is cho∣sen
for to be the Bath of the Sun and
Moon.

Page 32
For I will truely now thee excite to under∣stand well Mercuries three.
BUt because one Book never is suffici∣ent
in this Mastery, to discover all
that is to be known, and other Authors
write variously of Mercury: Attend fur∣ther
what I have to say to thee concern∣ing
this point.

We have in our work properly three
Mercuries, of which one is to be by the
Philosopher prepared, of which I have
spoken; and this being joynd with the
perfect Body, and set to digest, the Glass
is shut, and then in this first Composition
is the Matter called Rebis, that is, (two
things) to wit in Number, for you may
yet separate each from other in its intire
nature.

These two being joyned, do operate
so within the Vessel till the Compound
become a black Powder, which is then
called the Ashes of the Platter.

This Powder relenteth into a black
Broth, which is called Elixir, or Water
extracted by Elixation, which is reiterate
Liquefaction.

Page 33

This Elixir is divided into a more sub∣tile
part, which is called Azoth, and the
grosser part is called Leton, which is by
Azoth washed and whitened.

In Rebis the Matters are confused, in
Elixir they are divided, and in Azoth
they are conjoyned with an inseparable
union.

The Keys which of this Science be.
THese Menstruums or Mercuries are the
very Keys of this Science: The first
is the Philosophers Key, the other two
are Natures Keys.

Reymund his Menstrues doth them call.
THey are called by the wise men Men∣strues,
in three respects: first for
the secresie of them; as those Lunary
Tributes of Women are hid from com∣mon
view, so these Mercuries from vulgar
Searchers. Secondly for the Progno∣sticks
of them; as those in Women beto∣ken
maturity to conceive, so these are
called Menstrues because they are fit for
Page 34

procreation. Thirdly in regard of the
office of them; as those in Women are
accounted nutritive for the Embrion, so
our Child is nourished by these to perfect
age and strength.

Let me add a fourth reason, and that
is, in respect of the time; the Philoso∣phical
Preparation will hardly give thee
thy first Menstruum fit for thy use in less
than a month. And after conjunction
thy first Menstruum will begin to hold of
the nature of the Body in another month,
and then thou shalt see a show of the se∣cond
Menstruum; but wait till another
month, and thou shalt see thy second
Menstruum compleat; then yet wait a
third month, and thou shalt see a show
of the third Menstruum, which in the
fourth month will perfectly exuberate,
and then with it thou shalt soon see per∣fected
Sulphur of Nature, for it is Fire
of Nature; and in this first Exaltation is
the white Stone perfected.

Page 35
Without them truly no Truth is done.
HE then that knoweth not the Secret
of our Menstruals, let him forbear
the practice of the Work, for verily he
may expect nothing but a sophistical De∣lusion
instead of the true Work of Na∣ture:
He is like a man that would enter
an inaccessable Castle without a Key, or
shoot in a Bow without a string.

But two of them be superficial.
NOw that you may know our Secrets
exactly, we shall faithfully disco∣ver
unto you our Experience, as cordial∣ly
as a Brother may declare to a Brother;
and shall reveal what I never found yet
revealed in any Author.

There are in our Mercury three Mercu∣rial
Substances, which may well be called
Menstrues, the one the more gross part,
(which though it be a Water, yet it be∣ing
the most palpable part, and visible,
may be termed the Body of the Water:
the last is a Fiery Form, which is the
Page 36

Blood of Cadmus; this is a real invisi∣ble
form, which is essentially and formally
Sol Volatile: the second is the mean Soul,
which Philosophers without Equivoca∣tion
call Saturn's Child; the middle sub∣stance
of these three, are made into one
wonderful Mercury, which hath not its
like in the world.

Now for the superficiality of the two
first Menstrues or Mercuries, and the es∣sentiality
of the third, know and under∣stand,
for our speech will be very myste∣rious:
Know I say, what it is to be super∣ficial,
and what essential: Essence you
know is invisible, and more formal then
material, which doth actuate the mat∣ter,
and ripens it; but that which is su∣perficial
is visible, and may be seen, and
is more material and passive: Now those
two first which are superficial, are the
Water and the Blood, the essential Men∣strue
is the Spirit, which all are in one;
yet distinguished in number, though not
in kind.

Page 37
The third Essential to Sun and Moon.
SO then two are material passive sub∣stances,
which are united in our so∣phical
Mercury; the third is an active es∣sence
which is hid in our Mercury, which
is essential to Sun and Moon, because it
is a Fire, which is Sol volatile; and as the
Artist may govern this Mercury, it will
digest the passive Principles either into
Sol or Luna, at the Philosophers pleasure.

Their Properties I will declare right soon.
I Shall by and by in its place describe to
you all the Properties of these three
Menstrues, when I come to it; in the
mean time take notice that by this Mer∣cury
in which are three Mercuries, or Men∣strues,
the perfect Bodies will be calcined,
and then dissolved into Mercury, which is
not then so properly called a Menstrue, for
it is the Fruit it self, called Azoth, or Vir∣gins
Milk; which is a digestion beyond
the Menstrues.

Page 38
And Mercury of Metals essential,
Is the Principle of our Stone material.
THe Bodies when they are dissolved
do transmute the foresaid Mercu∣ries
by their own ferment, into their own
nature, for the Fire of Nature assimilates
all that nourisheth it to its own likeness;
and then our Mercury or Menstrue vanish∣eth,
that is, it is swallowed up in the So∣lary
Nature, and all together make but
one universal Mercury, by intimate union,
and this Mercury is the material Principle
of the Stone; for before our Mercury (as
it was compounded of three Mercuries)
had in it two which were superficial, and
the third essential to Sol and Luna only,
not to the Stone: for Nature would pro∣duce
these two out of it, by artificial de∣coction:
but when the perfect Bodies are
dissolved, they transmute the Mercury
(that dissolved it) and then there is no
more repugnancy in it, then is there no
longer a distinction between superficial
and essential, but all is become essential▪
And this is that one matter of the Stone,
Page 39
•hat one thing which is the subject of
all Wonders.

In Sol and Luna our Menstrues are not seen.
WHen thou art come to this, then
shalt thou no more discern a
distinction between the Dissolver and the
Dissolved; for the Water shall neither
ascend nor descend, go out nor in alone,
but the Fire of Nature shall accompany
it, and the colour of the mature Sulphur,
which is unseparably joyned, shall tin∣cture
thy Water.

It appeareth not but by effect to sight.
SO that thou shalt never see them seve∣red
one from the other, but shalt dis∣cern
them by the effect, and by the eye of
thy mind more then of thy body There∣fore
saith the Philosopher, Azoth and
Fire are sufficient for thee in the middle
and end, but not in the beginning, for
then they are not our Mercury, that is
our universally united Mercury. But in
Page 40

the first days of the Stone, there appear
four Elements, of which three are in the
Mercury sublimed, and one in Sol, which
is counted all for Earth till it be dissol∣ved,
and then it fermenteth the Mercury,
and makes the three qualities of it, which
it hath, drawn from three substances to
unite into one Mercury which hath all in
it one essential property, and that is So∣lary,
which first will shew the Moon in
the full, and is the true one matter of all
our Secrets, our one Image out of which
springs white and red, not bare Sol and
Luna, as will spring out of our Mercury,
which we prepare with our hands, but
the white and red Elixirs, which shew
that this Mercury which Nature hath
made in the Glass, without our help, is
far beyond that Mercury which we pre∣pared
with a laborious toil.

Page 41
This is the Stone of which we mean,
Who so our Writings conceiveth aright.
ANd verily he that hath well studied
our Books shall understand that this
general one Mercury which we call Azoth,
is indeed our Stone, which wanteth only
digestion, for it is inseparably united, not
in a Dyprative Conjunction, which is
barely a mixture of the Sun with our
Mercury; or Triptative, which is a mix∣ture
and union of the Body, Soul, and
Spirit, which is before Putrefaction▪ but
Tetraptive, which is the Anatization of
qualities, which is the first degree of the
white Stone, which will then grow higher
and higher, till the Moon come up to
the full.

It is a Soul and Substance bright.
THis Stone or Virtue multiplicative
is not in relation to the matter, but
the form, which doth make the matter to
receive and after impress Tinctures: for
who could believe that Sol, in which the
Page 42

virtue is but unary, I mean only suffici∣ent
for it self, should by the addition of
our Mercury, which in reference to its ma∣terial
parts, is below the degree of Sol,
and needs digestion, and that only to ma∣turate
it to the height of Sol, I say that
by the mixture of those two Venerial
Tinctures, should be multiplied in a man∣ner
infinitely.

Of Sol and Luna a subtile Influence.
WEre it not that this Tincture
which in the Mercury is Sol and
Luna, were as a Soul, that is, a spiritual
thing, it were impossible; it is therefore
the very Dos faecunditatis which is in Mi∣nerals
(which doth appear in their Luna∣ry
and Solary Tinctures) which was put
and planted on and in them, in the first
Benediction of (Crescite & Multiplicami∣ni)
which increasing is in some things
juxta quantitatem: This is in quality.

Page 43
Whereby the Earth receiveth resplendence.
SO then the matter of Minerals is a
dead passive thing, in which there is
included a Light which is cloathed (vi∣tali
Aura aetheria) as I may speak; this
form of Light is it which doth actuate
and specificate or determine the matter;
and this splendor or Light is in all Metals,
Sol or Luna, which are conspicuous more
eminently in those two perfect Bodies
Gold and Silver, but are in other Mineral
Bodies more Clouded and Eclipsed with
an earthly faeculent interposition between
the fulgor and the superfluities, which is
the Imperfection of such Bodies; and is
accompanied with a rawness and incon∣stancy
in the Fire, the Impure carrying
away the Pure.

Page 44
For what is Sol and Luna, saith Avicen▪
But Earth which is pure White & Red?
SO then Sol and Luna is more formal
then material; for the matter is a
gross Terrene Substance, but the form of
Light purifying the Substance, is a most
subtile spiritual thing which doth ennoble
the grossness of the matter by a Fire-abi∣ding
Tincture.

Take from it the said Clearness, and then That Earth will stand but in little stead.
BUt if this Tincture could be separated
from the pondus of the matter, the
remainder would be an unprofitable Ter∣restriety:
Our work therefore is for to
advance this Light by exaltation in the
matter; which as it in its simplicity is but
in unity, so it may be brought to a Vir∣tue
millenary, and gradually so exalted,
that the matter would seem to be quite
swallowed up of the form; and yet in
this exaltation it is not the moles or pon∣dus
that is the Solary or Lunary Virtue,
Page 45

but a Light whose multiplication is not
in the increase of pondus, but in the cir∣culation
of Natures, till the Heavenly
illuminate the Earthly with an immediate
Beam, all interposition being removed
out of the way.

The whole Compound is called our Lead▪
FOr to attain this admirable multipli∣cation
Philosophers have found out
a most subtile yet very natural Composi∣tion,
which hath been not a little sought
for by many: this the wise Antients,
both to describe the Fountain of these
Mysteries, as also to hide the Secret from
the unworthy, have mystically called
their Lead.

The quality of Clearness from Sol and Lu∣na doth come.
THis Lead, so called from the appear∣ing
baseness of its original, is not∣withstanding
of an admirable power, for
it contains the Bath for Sol and Luna;
that is, the Sun and Moon enter into it, and
Page 46

send out their Tinctures into it, which it
receiveth, and like to a fertile Soil enno∣bleth
it an hundred and an hundred fold.

These are our Menstrues, both all and some.
THus have I in general given you a
description of our Menstrues, which
are three, Acetum, Elixir, and Azoth;
which I shall now particularly describe.

Bodies with the first we Calcine naturally▪ perfect.
THe first Menstrue we call our sharp Vi∣negar,
with infinite other names,
which it will be tedious for to recite; and
with this is made our Magical Solution of
Sol; this, saith Sendivogius, is (Menstruum
mundi in sphaera Lunae toties rectificatum
ut possit calcinare Solem.) In this, saith
the noble Author of the Hermetical Ar∣canum,
is made Eclipsis Solis & Lunae in
Cauda Draconis: this is, as Artephi••
saith, the only Instrument in the World
for our Art: for it causeth the Sun to pu∣trefie;
that is, it loseth its hard compa∣ction,
Page 47

and makes it to be an impalpable
Powder, as saith the truth-telling Flam∣mel.
In this Calcination, as all Authors
testifie, and our own Experience hath
taught us, Natures are united, Colours
are mingled, and one holds of the other,
and this is the period of the first Men∣struum,
which ends in this Circulation.

But none which been unclean.
THis Blackness many erroneously con∣ceive
to be uncleanness, but it is not
so, for it is only the Sepulcher of our
King; in which, though he seem to have
lost what he was, yet from hence he shall
arise what he never was before.

Except one.
ANd verily there is nothing of an un∣clean
nature that entreth our Com∣position
except one thing, which is the In∣strument
moving the Gold to putrifie; and
in regard that it doth naturally incline the
Body to putrifie, and is as it were the very
grave of it, it is called by some Philoso∣phers
Page 48
Aqua foetida, and by some Mortis Im∣mundities;
yet indeed it is not in its own
nature unclean, but made pure, as pure as
the Art of the Artist can make it with
the help of Nature▪ joyning Consangui∣nty
with Consanguinity.

Which is usually Named by Philosophers their Lyon Green.
THis hidden Body, or rather Chaos,
the Philosophers have highly extol∣led
and deeply concealed, but they usu∣ally
call it their Green Lyon, which many
mistaking apply to Venus, and some to
Vitriol, which is all one in a manner, Vi∣triol
being only Copper corroded by an
embryonated Salt; but Fools, saith Rip∣ley
(in his Errors) call it the Green Lyon.
I shall discover this Subject to you, so far
as I dare, in this following Song.

Page 49
The Learned SOPHIES FEAST.
WHoso would lasting and eternal Fame
Deserve, Learn thou the Lyon Green to tame.
But this before you can by Art attain,
To study him to know thou must be fain;
Nor is it, trust me, for a stupid Fool,
Nor yet for one brought up in vulgar School.
I shall him therefore lively out pourtray,
Lest from this Banquet you go lean away.
This Song I stile the Learned Sophies Feast,
Prepare your self to come a worthy Guest:
With Mind attentive to my words give heed,
Lest you, instead of Meat, on Fancies feed.
This horrid Beast, which we our Lyon call,
Hath many other Names, that no man shall
The truth perceive, unless that God direct,
And on his darkened Mind a Light reflect.
Page 50
Tis not because this Subject doth consist
Of Animal Components (he that list
May well conceive) that we do therefore use
The name of Beasts; nor is it to abuse
The Readers; he whoever so doth think,
With stupid Sots himself doth hereby link.
But it's because of the transcendent force
It hath, and for the rawness of its source,
Of which the like is no where to be seen,
That it of them is nam'd the Lyon Green.
Now listen, and I shall to you disclose
The Secret, which times past hath like a Rose
Been hedged so on every side with Briars,
That few could pluck it at their hearts desires
There is a substance of Metalline Race,
If you the matter view, whose louring face
A Sophister would at first sight so scare,
That he it to approach would never dare;
The form that•s visible is very vile,
And doth Metalline Bodies so defile,
That none to see it could be brought to think
That thence should spring bright Phoebu• Pearly Drink:
And yet, O strange! a wonder to relate,
At this same Spring naked Diana sat.
Who horn'd Acteon for his ventrous peeping,
This Spring two dreadful Beasts have in their keeping;
Page 51
Which drive away rash Searchers to their wo,
Them to inchant, the Art who do not know.
Yet further for to answer your desire,
I say this subject never felt the fire
Of Sulphur Metalline, but is more crude
Then any Mineral, which doth delude
Th' unwary, and in Fire fugitive
'Tis found th' impure away the pure doth drive;
And its Components are, A Mercury
Most pure, though tender, with a Sulphur dry
Incarcerate, which doth the flux restrain,
And as in shackles doth the same detain.
This Sulphur with malignant qualities
Doth so the Mercury infect which with it lies
That though they have no fundamental union,
Yet hereby is debarr'd the sweet communion
Which otherwise would surely intercede
Between this Virgin-Nymph, which we call Lead
And her dear Sister which in Silver streams
Runs down abundantly, then should the beams
Of bright Apollo cause the Dews which fall
From these commixed Waters, from the tall
Aspiring Mountains, gliding through the Vales,
Fire to conceive of Nature, which avails
To warm the Bath for Sol, in which he may
Descend and wash, and with fair Phebe play,
Page 52
Till flesh and youth renewing, they be able
To shine with glory, aye multiplicable.
Know then this Subject, which the sure Base
Of all our Secrets is, and it uncase;
And chuse what thou shalt find of greatest price,
Leave Sophisters, and follow my advice:
Be not deluded, for the Truth is one,
'Tis not in many things, this is our Stone.
At first appearing in a Garb defil'd,
And to deal plainly, it is Saturn's Child:
His price is mean, his venom very great,
His constitution cold, devoid of heat.
Although 'tis mixed with a Sulphur, yet
This Sulphur is combustible, to get
Another Sulphur Metalline and pure,
And mix with the Mercurial part be sure.
This Sulphur in the House of Aries seek,
There shall you find it, and this is the Greek
Alcides, which with Jason Journey took
To Colchos, this is it which never Book
As yet reveal'd, and yet I will proceed,
And greater Mysteries unfold with speed.
Our Subject it is no ways malleable,
It is Metalline, and its colour sable,
With intermixed Argent, which in veins
The sable Field with glittering Branches stains.
Page 53
The pure parts from the impure, thou shalt never
With Fire or Water for this work dissever
Nor with the hardest Iron dig it thence,
For Steel 'gainst this affordeth no defence.
So easily as any little Boy
A Giant can suppress, this can destroy
Alcides Brest-plate, with his Target stout,
And put opposing Armies to the rout
Of Swords and Spears, O wondrous force, and yet
The Sages this have seen, when they did sit
In Council, how this Fury they might tame,
Which (as unparallel'd) they then did name
Their Lyon Green, they suffered him to prey
On Cadmus Sociates, and when the fray
Was over, they with Dian's Charms him ty'd
And made him under Waters to abide,
And wash'd him clean, and after gave him Wings
To fly, much like a Dragon, whose sharp Springs
Of fiery Water th' only way was found
To cause Apollo his Harp-strings to sound.
This is the true Nymphs Bath, which we did try,
And prov'd to be the Wise Mens Mercury.
Page 54

IN this Song you have the Lyon Green
so described, that more I dare not,
more I cannot, unless I should pen you
down the Receipt verbatim, which God
and Reason forbids.

He is the mean the Sun and Moon between,
Of joyning Tinctures with perfectness.
LEarn then to know this Green Lyon
and its preparation, which is all in
all in the Art, it is the only knot, untie it,
and you are as good as a Master; for
whatever then remains is but to know
the outward Regimen of Fire, for to help
on Natures internal Work.

As Geber thereunto beareth witness.
MOreover be not various, seeking that
in many things which is verily but
in one thing; for in all the world there
is not any one subject but this: Ripley,
after the Rehearsal of all his Errors, tells
you, That he never saw true Work but
one: And Geber, Exacte (inquit) singula
Page 55

sumus experti, idque probatis rationibus &
nihil invenimus praeter solum unctuosam
humiditatem penetrantem & tingentem,
&c. And Artephius saith, There is no
other subject in the World for this Art,
naming it, although in a Philosophick
manner, wonderous subtilly. I counsel
thee, with Ripley, to learn to know this
one thing which I have faithfully decla∣red,
and I know what I have declared ex∣perimentally
to be true: He that under∣stands
me will have cause to thank God
and me for what Light I have given to
Ripley: He that with me understands
Ripley will easily discern.

With the second which is an humidity
Vegetable reviving what earst was dead.
OUr second Water, or Menstruum, or
Fire, is our Elixir, which is an Elix∣ation
of our Matters, or drawing forth
the Tincture out of our dissolved Bo∣dies;
which doth cause our dead Body
to rise, and to spring forth in Sprigs and
Branches, like to the tender Grass in the
Spring out of the Field; and this so long
Page 56

until an intire Triptative Union be made
of Body, Soul and Spirit. In this opera∣tion
our Body of the Sun hath its dead
moles turned into a living quick active
Spirit, and our Compound after death be∣gins
to sprout, and to shew its true Vege∣tative
nature, it is indowed with a green
Colour, which is the sign of the growth of
all things.

Both Principles Materials must loosed be.
HEre your Natures are changed, and
hold one of another, and become
one inseparably; that is, the Solary Na∣ture
is not to be divided from the Mer∣cury,
nor the Fire from the Water, but
with one the other is always moved; and
so though there yet be a superius and an
•nferius, an ascendens and subsidens, yet
now quod est superius est sicut id quod est
inferius.

Page 57
And Formals, else they stand in little stead.
NOw between the two Extreams of
Mercury and Sulphur, you have a
marvellous medium ingendered: now the
form of Gold is taken quite away, and it
hath at present an accidental imperfect
form, which is the mean through which
it passeth to its transcendent perfection.

These Menstrues therefore know, I thee reed.
LAbour with all thy might to attain the
skill of these two first Menstruums
Theoretically and Practically; the first is
to be by thee prepared and proportioned
in the beginning, before thou attempt
any thing. When thou hast the true
Nymphs Bath, then joyn this Spouse with
her beloved Husband, and see if she will
make his Body fall to sunder in impalpa∣ble
Atoms: Then let Saturn be thy Cham∣berlain,
and let him gather together these
dissevered members, and of them make
one broth, in which is blackness com∣pleat,
after which followeth greenness;
Page 58

and then shalt thou know that thy Com∣pound
is by the living God endowed with
a vegetable Soul.

Without the which neither true Calcination Done may be, nor true Dissolution.
HE who knoweth not the Mystery of
these two Menstrues, can never at∣tain
either to Calcination or Dissolution
of the Philosophers: The Mystery of the
first consists in the acuating of thy Vine∣gar
with the Blood of our Green Lyon,
and the Soul of the Fiery Dragon, which
is by seven Eagles, which are seven Co∣hobations
and Depurations of thy femi∣nine
Sperm, till it conceive a spiritual
seed, or true natural heat, to animate thy
young King.

The Mystery of the second Menstrue
consists in the true proportion of thy first
Water, with its own Body, and the ad∣ministration
of true heat external, by
which the combat between the Eagles
and the Lyon may be stirred up; thus shall
the Duel be ended, the Lyon rent in pie∣ces,
and the Carrion of its Carcass shall
Page 59

kill the Eagles; and out of these Atoms
shall the second Water be made apparent
by Dissolution.

With the third Humidity most permanent.
THe third Menstrue is by Artephius cal∣led
the second Water, for our se∣cond
he doth joyn together with the first;
although where he doth particularize the
three Fires, he doth then distinguish
three Menstruums.

The like course many Philosophers
have used in the description of their Ope∣rations,
some omitting the first, or at least
confounding it with the second, for
the greater obscuring of the Art.

But we have (beyond what any have
hitherto performed) particularly insisted
upon the three in order, and have taken
more pains in the discovery of the first,
because the wise Ancients have taken
such pains to conceal that most; and after
that we have made an orderly proceed∣ing
to the second, which we have in like
sort handled, and this being performed,
we do now address our selves to the
third.

Page 60

This is called by Ripley a most perma∣nent
Humidity: and note by the way,
that the first Water is called by Authors
a permanent Water likewise; but take
notice that there is a different reason for
each denomination; for first of all, all
Mercury is Water permanent, that is, the
parts have no Heterogeneity, they will
not leave one another in the examen of
the Fire, but either all flyes and is uncon∣stant,
or else all abides and is constant in
the tryal of Vulcan: and so is our first
Menstruum. And in this our Mercury and
Common Mercury agree, besides the iden∣tity
of matter, for it is the form only
that distinguisheth them. But in the next
place, our Water is permanent with the
Body, which Common Mercury is not;
that is, it by digestion doth unite, not
only adhere to it, so that both together
do make one Individuum, which is done
by our secret Conjunction. But lastly,
when the Body is thus by our Water re∣duced,
at last it comes that the four Ele∣ments
are united in this Water. After
Putrefaction and Purification, which is
the last most laudable Tetraptive Con∣junction,
Page 61

and now the Tincture is the
Spirit, and the Spirit is the Soul, and the
Soul is the Body, and all these are one.

Incombustible and unctuous in his Nature.
THis is our true Incombustible Mer∣cury,
for it is totally purged from all
its burning faeculency; Gold though it be
a pure Metal, in respect of others which
are imperfect, yet compared with our
Stone it hath also its faeces; but this
when it is taken away by Putrefaction
and Ablution, then becomes a total sepa∣ration
of what is precious from what is
vile, and as the Philosopher well saith, In
the troubles of this our stormy Sea, all
that is pure will ascend, and all that is
impure descend, and will abide in the
bottom of the Vessel in the form of a
combust Earth; then is made the new
Heaven and the new Earth, pray to God
then that thou mayst see when there shall
be no more Sea. Yet I say before thou
hast this final Inceration, thou hast this
most incombustible Menstruum, and most
permanent, in which Nature and Art
Page 62

have conspired and made a Purification,
beyond what Nature alone could ever
have brought to pass.

Therefore this Mercury, though it be
liquid and in the form of Mercury, it is
notwithstanding Unctuous, that is, great
with Child, which Child is Sulphur, which
Sulphur it will in the end bring forth,
and shall then be sealed up in the belly
of this Infant, which is when all is fixed,
and Mercury is then hidden under the
fixity of Sulphur.

Hermes Tree unto Ashes is burnt.
IT doth therefore naturally incline it
self unto Inceration, for Earth is the
Nurse of our Stone, and in it is its virtue
attained, and its perfection intire, accor∣ding
to noble Hermes in his Smaragdine
Table; Vis (saith he) ejus est integra si
versa fuerit in terram. By vertue of this
third permanent pure incombustible Wa∣ter,
thou shalt at last attain a total In∣ceration;
for this Water though it be
wholly Mercurial to sight, yet hath it in
its own Bowels its own Sulphur, nay it is
Page 63

all Sulphur, and that all incombustible.
This work is called the burning of Her∣mes
Tree to Ashes, which is done thrice;
first, into a black unctuous Calx, as im∣palpable
as Atoms, which are only to be
discerned in the Sun-beams: secondly,
into a fine white Calx, in which is the
Moon in the full: the third, a red Calx,
in which the Sun is Orient. Now know
that the first Calcination is from the ver∣tue
of the Sun, in which the Sun seeks to
rise, but by reason of the equal opposi∣tion
it finds from the water, it is be∣clouded,
and after through the interpo∣sition
of the Earth, totally Eclipsed.

This Fire therefore, because of the
mixture of it with the natural Fire of
Sol, which is in it dissolved, is called un∣natural;
the first Fire of our Water is
called Fire against nature, and the Fire
of the Sulphur of the perfect Body is cal∣led
Fire of nature. In this operation,
through the power and will of the Al∣mighty,
the Body which hath been so
long dead, is by this Water quickned,
and actually sprouts like to a Vegetable;
for when the pores of it are opened by
Page 64

the moistning of our Water, it straight
begins to follow the Spirit upon the Fire,
the Spirit then doth mount aloft; which
the Body thus made tender cannot fol∣low,
but as the Poet saith, non passibus
aequis, as a Son that is little followeth his
Father. It therefore in a token of its
friendship with the Water, doth bud
forth like to the tender Frost upon the
surface of the Earth, and retains a quan∣tity
of the Water with it self, occupying
a middle room between the bottom and
the top; in which respects the Philoso∣phers
have called it their Soul, which to
shew its union to the Body, riseth no
higher then it can have a root or Basis
below; and to manifest its love to the
Spirit, it doth as it were climb after it
highe• and higher for its season, until at
length it return from whence it came:
And verily this Soul is the Magnetical
Medium between the Spirit and the Bo∣dy,
which doth desire the Spirit as its
true drink; and therefore as it grows
dry, it doth attract the greater drops of
sweat, which falling to the Earth, arise
in a pleasant fume, and do moisten the
Page 65

growing virtue with a pleasant dew, by
reason of which it grows every day more
and more.

This Tree of ours some have compa∣red
to one thing, and some to another;
some to a Cypress or Fir-Tree, which
indeed may seem to resemble it; others
to Haw-Thorn Trees, as Ripley in his
Gate of Cibation; others to Shrubs and
Bushes, others to thick Woods, and in
these Woods, saith Lambsprint, there is
a Beast all over black. I confess there is
a similitude between our Germination,
and all these; others, because of the
Humidity of the Compound, which is
ever and anon returning by drops, have
likened it to a moorish low Bog, in which
Rushes grow, and Toads keep; others
have called it their Coral, which is in∣deed
the fittest comparison, for in our
Tree there are Shoots and Sprigs, with∣out
any thing that may be properly
likened to Leaves: as then Coral is an
union of a Vegetable and a Stony na∣ture,
so is it in our Tree, (for Stones
and Minerals are of one Imposition) our
Tree is Metalline, and yet through the
Page 66

power of God it seems to Vegetate.
2ly. Coral grows under the water, where
one would think no Vegetable could
grow; ours also grows in a heat in which
no Vegetable but it self can grow.
3ly. Coral hath many Sprigs and Bran∣ches
without Leaves; so is our Tree.
4ly▪ Coral as it is under water hath a
most exquisite biting tast, which in the
Air it quickly loseth; so our Stone, or
Tree Metalline, in its place is of a pon∣tique
fiery nature, but taken out, it in
a short space loseth the same irrecovera∣bly.
5ly. There are five sorts of Coral,
the common Gray, the Milk White, the
Green, the Bloud Red, and the Black;
so our Tree is at his periods of all these
colours, and in this form, which Tree by
the heat of the Fire is dryed to a Calx,
which is called the Ashes of Hermes Tree.
Lastly, Coral is more heavy then any
other Vegetable; and so is our Tree be∣yond
all Vegetables, yea and Coral it
self, in ponderosity. It was not there∣fore
a fortuitous comparison that Philo∣sophers
named their Mastery the Tree of
the Hesperides, nor is it in vain that they
Page 67

bring in Jason pouring Broth at the Root
of it to attain the Mastery; for verily
•he wise Philosopher (noted by Jason)•o governing his Fire, that the Lunaria
or Water of the Moon may return to the
Earth in which these Trees grow, the
Earth will at length be so dryed by the
•eat of the Sun, that it shall afford the
Tree no more moisture; then shall the
Tree it self be calcined by the prevailing
•eat, into a Powder impalpable, first
black, then white, then red. Therefore
•s our little Glass by Flammel in his Sum∣mary
named the Philosophers Garden, in
which the Sun riseth and setteth, and the
Philosophers Tree is moistned with the
dew of Heaven day and night without
•ntermission.

It is our natural Fire most sure.
THis Mercury drawn out of the Sun is
the true natural heat, in the acua∣•ing
and stirring up of which is the whole
secret of the Mastery; this is the honou∣red
Salt, when this is made to appear thy
operations will be so admirable, that they
Page 68

will take up thy whole worldly content,
and with their variety the time will seem
so short, that thou wilt not take notice of
any tediousness in the passing of it.

Our Mercury, our Sulphur, our Tincture pure.
THis is our Mercury which cannot be
attained with money, which is no∣thing
but Sulphur, and Sulphur which is
nothing but Tincture, in which all Ele∣ments
are proportioned perfectly.

Our Soul, our Stone born up with wind,
In the Earth ingendred. Bear this in mind.
THis is our Body, which is now be∣come
all Soul and all Spirit, all the
pure parts are separated now totally from
the uncleanness of the dead; it is our
Stone, though it be as yet volatile, yet it
hath all in it essential to our Stone, and
therefore though it fly and sublime for
the space of seven times, yet his Nurse is
the Earth, and therefore to it as to its
Nest it returns, and in seven sublimations
what was before all Heaven, will now
Page 69

become all Earth. And this is the period
of all the Rotations, and Natures con∣summation.

This Stone also tell thee I dare,
Is the vapour of Metals potential.
ANd now if any should demand of us
what our Stone is, we shall answer
him, that it is Gold digested to its height
of purity and perfection, through the co-operation
of Art and Nature; but the
means to get this, is to learn to turn thy
Body into a vapour, that is, into Mercury,
which then ascends in form of a vapour.

How thou shalt get it thou must beware,
For Invisible truly is this Menstrual.
Howbeit with the second Water Philosophi∣cal,
By separation of Elements it may appear
To sight in form of Water clear.
BUt the means to attain this is not a
light work, it requires a profound
meditation, for this is the Seed of Gold,
(which as the Poet sang, reclusa resedit
longius) it is involved in many links,
Page 70

and held Prisoner as it were in a deep
Dungeon; so that as the noble Sandivow
hath it, it is the work of a very wise
Philosopher to let loose Sulphur; he that
knows not our two first Menstruals, is
altogether shut out from attaining to the
sight of this third and last Menstrue; yet
he who knows how to prepare the first
Water, and to joyn it to the Body in a
just pondus, to shut it up in its Vessel
Philosophically, until the Infant be for∣med,
and what is the greatest of all, to
govern his Fire dexterously, so as to che∣rish
Internal heat with External, and can
wait with patience till he see his signs,
he shall see the first Water will work on
the Body till it hath opened the pores,
and extracted partly the Tincture of Sol,
which as it comes out gradually, so it
contests with the first Fire against Na∣ture,
so long till they be reconciled in
an imperfect medium; in which they,
like to weary wounded Combatants, lye
gasping and panting for breath, and at
length dye; and then appears the second
Water of the wise, which doth ascend
and descend so long til lit revive the dead
Page 71

Carkass, and then a Soul comes into it,
and it vegetates and circulates, and chan∣geth
colours so long, till Blackness vanish∣ing
there be made a perfect union and
universal temperament of Elemental qua∣lities,
never more to contend together:
then the whole Compound for a time
appears like to a new glorious Water,
glittering like Oriental Pearls, and
Fish-eyes.

Of this Menstrue by labour exuberate,
With it may be made Sulphur of Nature.
THis is it which Raymund calls his
Mercury exuberate, as much as to
say, Mercury with Child; Artephius cal∣leth
it, the Salt pregnant, for it hath Sul∣phur
actually hidden under the Mercurial
quickness; therefore it by digestion is
easily turned into our Stone, which is
Sulphur, or Fire of Nature.

Page 72
If it be well and kindly acuate,
And circulate into a Spirit pure,
Then to dissolve thou must be sure
Thy base with it in divers wise,
As thou shalt know by thy practise,
That point, &c.
THis Mercury thus renovate or new
born, may by the Philosopher be
diversly handled; for he may take his
work from the Fire, and circulate and
cohobate this Mercury by a peculiar ope∣ration,
which is partly Mechanical, till he
have a most admirable pure subtile Spi∣rit,
in which he may dissolve Pearls and
all Gems, and multiply them or his Red
Stone, before it be united with a Metal
in projection for the making of Aurum
Potabile. And in this Mercury thus cir∣culated,
is doubtless the Mystery of the
never-fading Light, which I have actually
seen, but yet not practically made. In a
word, every one who hath this exube∣rate
Mercury, hath indeed at command
the subject of wonders, which he may
imploy himself many ways in both admi∣rably
Page 73

and pleasantly. And certainly he
that hath this, needs no information from
another; himself now standing in the
Centre, he may easily view the Circum∣ference,
and then operation will be, next
to the Spirit of God, his best Guide.
Know then, that if thou be a Son of Art,
when thou art once arrived hither, thou
art so far from being at the end of thy
search, (unless thou make Gold to be
thy final object, and so thou shalt never
come hither) that thou art but now
come into the Mystical School of the
hidden wonders of God, in which thou
mayst every day see new Miracles, if
thou be studious and desirous of know∣ledge,
which all Adepti are; they prize
skill before any earthly thing, and there∣fore
refuse Honour and Pomp, and retire
only to the beholding of God and his
Works, in this admirable Looking-glass
of the most hidden Mysteries of Nature.

Page 74
For so together they may be circulate,
That is, the base oyl and vegetable Menstrual,
So that it be by labour exuberate,
And made by craft a Stone celestial.
YEt doth not wisdom come naked,
but with her she brings riches and
length of days; for this exuberate Mer∣cury
is an Hermaphrodite, and may with∣out
taking out of the Glass be circulated
into a fifth Essence.

Now the union between the two Prin∣ciples,
is the very true cause of this cir∣culation;
for though in this last Men∣struum
there is an inseparable oneness,
yet the Components do give each their
most noble quality to exalt the transcen∣dency
of our Medicine. The extreme
Components of this third Menstruum,
are the Sulphur and Mercuriality of the
second; as the first Menstrue, and Sol
our Body, were the extremes of the se∣cond.
The base oyl, our Sulphur is called,
for he is the unctuous Dragon, or Earth
which lyes at bottom without wings, and
is the Basis as it were of the Work. The
Page 75
Mercury is called Vegetable, for that it
flyes and returns, and makes the Earth to
sprout and bud with tender branches.
These two (the base oyl or Sulphur, and
the vegetable Menstrue) at last make one
intire indivisible substance, which is of
an Hermaphroditical quality, the Man is
the Woman, and the Woman the Man;
the Sulphur the Mercury, and the Mercury
is the Sulphur; in this respect the Earth
flyeth as if it were Heaven, and at length
the Heaven will precipitate in the form
of Earth, and then is our work at an end,
there is the Harvest in the South, when
the glorified Soul is become a spiritual
Body, which is called our Stone of Pa∣radise.

Page 76
Of nature so Fiery that we it call,
Our Basilisk, or our Cockatrice,
Our great Elixir most of price.
For as the sight of the Basilisk his object
Killeth, so slayeth it crude Mercury,
When thereupon he is project,
In twinkling of an eye most suddenly.
That Mercury then teyneth permanently
All Metals to Gold and Silver perfite.
Thus guide thy base both red and white.
THis Heavenly Earth is true Mineral
Fire, which is then resembled to the
Sun in its Summer Solstice; it is called
Venom, because it penetrates Metals so
wonderfully; it is called our Basilisk, our
Cockatrice, our Tyrian Poison, though in∣deed
it be an excellent Medicine, in
which respect it is called our incompara∣ble
inestimable Elixir. But the denomi∣nation
of Basilisk it retains from its sud∣den
operation upon Mercury; for it pe∣netrates
it in projection, as warm Oyl
runs into sinking Paper, even to the pro∣fundity
of it. Let thy Mercury therefore
be taken as it is crude bought at the
Page 77

Apothecaries, and thou shalt set it in a
Crucible to the Fire, in such a heat as the
Mercury may not fume; and when it is
so hot that it is ready to fly, which you
shall discern by a spurtling noise, throw
upon it of your Medicine as much as will
teyne it, and you shall see that in a mo∣ment
it will enter it, and straightway the
Mercury loseth its flux, and stands con∣gealed.
Then it is to be melted by a
Fire of fusion, and you shall find pure
Gold or Silver, according to the quality
of your Medicine. But if you cast your
high Elixir in too great a quantity on
Mercury, you shall find in the Crucible
after projection, a brittle mass of the qua∣lity
and colour of the first Medicine, only
of a lower virtue, which then you may
project upon any inferiour Metal, and it
will transmute it into most perfect. This
operation is not apparent or to sight, as
is the work of Sophisters, but it is both
inward and outward, for it transmuteth
into a perfect species, and not only to
shew. This is the way of projection both
of thy white and thy red Quintessences,
first to cast them upon Sol or Luna, ac∣cording
Page 78

as thy Medicine is, and after that
to make projection on Mercury again and
again, till you find the true extent of
the virtue of your Stone.

Make gold drinkable here
Of Gold not commonly calcinate.
ANd now I come to the second reward
that Wisdom doth bring with her,
and that is length of days; and here I
have transposed some few Verses of Rip∣leys
concerning Aurum Potabile, that
what he saith in this point may be repre∣sented
in view together, Method inviting
me to it. Some propound the Medicine
of Aurum Potabile to be Extracted out of
Sol pure, by corroding with Aqua Re∣gia,
and afterwards levigating it by rei∣terate
Calcinations in the Fire, and ma∣nual
Contritions. This Calx so subti∣lized,
some attempt to resolve by Men∣strues,
(as they call them) but in vain,
there being only one Menstruum that
hath the power to resolve both Gold, and
all sublunary Bodies, to their first matter.
Paracelsus the first Author of this, did
Page 79

name this dissolving Water his Alkahest,
his Jgnis Gehennae, his •orrosivum specifi∣cum,
with many other names. This Me∣dicine
thus made of Gold by the Alka∣hest,
as it is Philosophical and real, so it
is very excellent, and known only to the
Adepti.

Yet this is not our great Medicine, for
this being but a resolution of Gold in its
unary simplicity, doth afford to us only
the most exquisite Medicine that is in
Gold, as it is made and left by Nature,
which partly for its simple vertue, and
partly for its Metallick determination,
doth not enter our Constitutive Princi∣ples,
and consequently cannot touch or
reach long life.

But of our Tincture which will not fade,
Out of our base drawn by our Menstrue circulate.
BUt when as we have by our Art exal∣ted
Gold from an unary to a mille∣nary
perfection, and advanced it from its
gross corpulency to a Spiritual Tincture,
which is unfading, and of all Sublunary
Page 80

things the most durable, then out of this
so glorious and triumphant in an uni∣versal
virtue, we do make an Oyl so cal∣led
by us, (though it be permiscible by
mixture in any Liquor) which Oyl is
the very Tree of Life, which prevails
and triumphs over all the Miseries in
the world. For it is not Metallum, but
transcending all Metalline things: This
Tincture is extracted out of Gold, not as
Tinctures are drawn by the Sal Circula∣tum
of Paracelsus, but by an universal
changing of the Sickness of the Metalline
off-spring, into a true posture of Health;
by which means it is able to heal all Me∣talline
Bodies from their Leprosie, and
being resolved by its own Vegetable Hu∣midity,
which is our first Menstrue, circu∣lated
till the Water have a ferment from
the Bodies, and the Bodies from the Wa∣ter,
it will give a Spiritual Tincture,
sparkling like the flame, to tast most
sweet, to smell most pleasant, the most
incomparable Treasure of the whole
World.

Page 81
And for thy first ground principal,
Ʋnderstand thy Waters Menstrual.
NOw I return to that which went be∣fore
concerning this Medicine, which
I passed over in that place, that I might
here bring it in together; and indeed he
who will know this Mystery, he must in
the first place learn to know his Men∣strual
Waters, for without this know∣ledge
he can never come to this Mastery;
for with the third Menstruum, (count∣ing
three according to Ripley) or the
second Water, (making the first and se∣cond
into one, with Arteph•us) is this
fragrant Balsam made: And verily the
whole is but Cohobation, the first Water
being cohobated so long upon the Bo∣dies,
till it receive from them a quality
of natural heat; yet so as that the qua∣lity
of its own Fire, which is corruptive,
and so against Nature, be mingled in way
of action and passion with the natural
Fire. This makes a Fire innatural, and is
the second Water, in which colours rise
and set frequently, and then by cohoba∣ting
Page 82

it till Fire of Nature have wholly
subdued his Adversary, and made a per∣fect
peace and union with it. Then all is
Fire of Nature, then the Clouds are scat∣tered
and the Light appears; and this is
our third Water, the subject of wonders,
which being one alone, doth from that
time all operations within it self, con∣gealing,
relenting, calcining, exalting,
subliming and fixing all Elements, being
linked here inviolably to the making up
of that great Mysterium magnum, which
Paracelsus described, but knew it not;
we both know it, and have seen it, and
what we do know and have seen, we do
faithfully relate.

And when thou hast made Calcination,
Increasing not wasting moisture radical,
Ʋntil thy base by oft subtilation,
Will lightly flow as Wax on a Metal.
Then loose it with thy Vegetable Menstrual,
Till thou have Oyl thereof in colour bright.
THerefore labour thou to bring thy
Gold to a Calcination, not by Cor∣rosives,
but by Mercury, not into a Pow∣der
Page 83

red and dry, but into a Calx black
and unctuous, and multiply moisture by
our true Virgins Milk; then circulate
these Natures together, till they will flow
like unto Wax upon a Plate of Metal,
which is the sign of the true Tincture of
Luna. Continue thy Fire till the fixt
again relent of its own accord, till the
dry become moist again, and till a Soul
return; then shall thy Tincture proceed
forward to a new Germination, and shall
be indowed with a Vegetative Soul. Go∣vern
thy Bath sweetly, until thou have a
Tincture of Citrine, which is a sign that
thy Water is now impregnated with the
Oyl immarcessible.

Then is that Menstruum visible to sight.
THen shalt thou discover what before
was hidden, and see what before
was invisible, and shalt say with the Phi∣losopher,
O Nature, how thou makest
Gold volatile that was most fixed! There∣fore
have they passed one into another.

Page 84
An Oyl is drawn out in the colour of Gold.
THis is our Virgins Milk of the Sun,
which is yellow; with this and our
perfect Tincture, we make our Blessed
Oyl, which hath not its Peer among all
the works of God, next to the Immortal
Soul of man, the Glass of Tri-unity, the
Sabbath of perfection. O happy they
that attain to it!

Or like thereto out of fine red Lead.
YEt a succedaneum of this noble Medi∣cine
is found in the loyns of Saturn,
in the bowels of our despised Infant,
which some true and loyal Sons of Na∣ture,
through the great mercy of God,
have attained without knowing our
great Arcanum, which a man would think
marvellous.

This is our red Lead, our Mercury
essencificate and coagulated into a chaos
of Spiritual Gold, and after dissolved
into a quintessence as red as Bloud;
which because it is made out of the very
Page 85

Essential Mercury of our Stone, which is
our first Water, I shall leave it undisco∣vered,
which otherwise (if it might be
explained without danger of prostituting
the other Secret to unworthy people)
I would for the good of Mankind pro∣claim
it with Trumpets.

Which Raymund said when he was old,
Much more then Gold would stand in stead.
THis Oyl or Quintessence, this Balsam
of Health, we do therefore prize
for its wonderful virtue, not so much for
that by means of it Poverty, that great
snare, may be avoided, but for its won∣derful
prevailing excellency against all
Diseases both of body and mind, as wit∣nesseth
Lully, Trevisan, Artephius, with
that excellent Book intituled Aurea Hora,
or Consurgens Aurora.

Page 86
For when he was for Age near dead,
He made thereof Aurum Potabile,
Which him revived as men might see.
BY vertue of this Quintessence Arte∣phius
testifieth, that he lived above
a thousand years: Flammel also recor∣deth
of it, that it triumpheth over all
the Miseries of the World. Johannes de
Laznioro is more bold, and saith, that if
in the Agony of death a man should tast
but a Grain of it, all the mortal Pestilence
would depart from him.

Since then this Knowledge is so won∣derfully
profitable, being the very Look∣ing-glass
of Nature, the Antidote against
Poverty and Sickness, and consequently
the Cut-throat of Covetousness, Pride,
Ambition, and such like sordid Affecti∣ons,
who would not bestow a little time
in the Inquiry of it? In which let me
assure thee in the very words of Trevisan,
the Art is so plain, that if it were na∣kedly
described it would be contempti∣ble.
And yet in vulgar Mechanicks, how
frequent is it for men to serve seven,
Page 87

eight, yea ten years Apprentiship to at∣tain
them? And in some that are a little
more ingenious, how frequently are con∣siderable
sums of Money bestowed to
boot? Yet in this noble Art, so far ex∣celling
all Humane Sciences as the Sun
doth a Candle, who will imploy himself
with diligence? unless it be some Money-minded
Sots, who seek only for Riches;
and yet how soon are even they weary?
So that few or none persist in their In∣quiry,
save a few Roguish Sophisters
who live by Cozening; by reason of such
the Art is scandalized, and ill spoken of:
Yet trust me, for I speak knowingly, the
Art is both true and easie; yea so easie,
that if you did see the Experiment, you
could not believe it. I made not five
wrong Experiments in it, before I found
the truth, although in some particular
turnings of the Encheiresis, I erred oft;
yet so, as I in my error knew my self a
Master, and in less then full two years
and a half, of a vulgar Jgnoramus, I be∣came
a true Adept, and have the Secret
through the goodness of God. And that
this is true, there are those alive that can
Page 88

bear witness to this my writing, which
I penn'd for the sake of the Ingenious,
that they may have Ariadne's thread
stretched out to guide them; so with the
blessing of God they shall by their own
Experience see and know, that I wrote
nothing but what the Light of Experi∣ence
(far beyond all imaginary conje∣ctures)
hath taught me to be true.

ANd now my Muse, let it not irksome seem
To thee of Natures Mysteries to sing,
Those hidden Mysteries which many deem
Nought but delusions with them for to bring.
This is th' opinion of the Vulgar rude,
To whom there's hardly any selcouth thing,
But seems a Juggling trick, that would delude
Their fancies with an empty wondering;
Therefore against it they with thundering words do ring.
There is a fiery Stone of Paradise,
So call'd because of its Celestial hew,
Named of Ancient years by Sages wise
Elixir, made of Earth and Heaven new,
Page 89
Anatically mixt; strange to relate,
Sought for by many, but found out by few;
Above vicissitudes of Nature, and by fate
Immortal, like a Body fixt to shew,
Whose penetrative vertue proves a Spirit true.
His property is as the Sages told,
Metals imperfect (which before would burn)
Six to transmute into most perfect Gold,
And five into the finest Silver turn,
Not equalled by Metals of the Mine;
Which while some seek, they madly seem to spurn
The pricks, which proves in th' end a bad design,
And gives them cause sadly at length to mourn,
And to bewail their destiny like men for∣lorn.
For why, they do not well premeditate
The nature of the thing they would attain;
The only thirst of Gain doth animate
These Gold-adoring wretches, who main∣tain
Their mad expence with many a cursed lye,
Page 90
Nor from false perjury will they refrain:
Thus they allure fools by flattery,
To trust their dotage for the hope of gain,
This last so long, till in the suds they both remain.
Then Covetousness wrangles with Deceit,
And curses him for all his lewd expence:
The other being conscious of his cheat,
With subtle words doth make a sly defence.
But what is past can never be recall'd,
This grieves the Churl, who vows for that offence
He'l have the Jugglers future pranks fore∣stall'd,
Lays him in Gaol, O monstrous change! from thence
The great Stone-maker through a Grate doth beg for pence.
But he who will a studious Searcher be
Of Truth, let him such Sophisters eschew,
And if he will but be advis'd by me,
Of false ways I'le him warn, and shew him true.
Beg humbly of thy God to be thy guide,
For thou must pass through hidden ways, by few
Page 91
Traced; and that thy suit be not deny'd,
Intreat of him thy heart for to renew,
Thus qualifi'd thou mayst thy Journey ne∣ver rue.
Next learn to know the different Kingdoms three,
In which all sublunary things are wrought,
Ʋnveil the hidden Bodies, whose degree
Is noble, though their place full low be sought;
In which respect they bear the Planets names,
And they to such a Virtue may be brought,
Which answer may the painful Chymist's aims,
And it perform, which will surpass the thought
Of the rude Vulgar, who by only sense are taught.
The Wise mens Books with diligence peruse,
From which, if diligent, thou mayst dis∣cern
What substance 'tis they for their Matter chuse,
Also their hidden Agent thou mayst learn.
Page 92
They tell thee eke what things thou shouldst refuse,
And of erroneous Works they will thee warn;
Their counsel take, so shalt thou never lose
Thy cost ne labour; also thou mayst earn
Riches and Health, the one to other sub∣altern.
Yet pains and labour see thou do not grudge,
Nor cost, although a little will suffice;
Yet Truth at first to find thou may not judge;
'Tis well if faults at length will make thee wise:
Nor be thou over-heady to believe
The Shell of words, which them who are not nice
To sever Truth from Falshood, do deceive,
That they to win a shadow lose a prize:
To sever Corn from Straw I therefore you advise.
And if you please to take me for your Guide,
I'le you unto a godly Castle lead,
A Castle which to hold all proof is try'd,
So that there's none within its Walls may tread
But he who favour'd is with special Grace,
No other title any one may plead:
Page 93
And she who is Queen-Regent of the place,
Is Nature call'd, she in Jehovah's stead
Doth sit and rule, for she next under God is Head.
This Castle round by force Inexpugnable,
Whose Composition's Homogeneal,
Immortal ever stands, that none is able
To conquer it by force, though fraud withall
Concur; its standing is so firmly stable,
No way to storm it, though we could recall
Great Hercules, 'tis so inviolable:
And yet withall its Beauty is so amiable.
Twelve Gates it hath, and yet they are but one,
And these twelve Gates have but one only Lock,
So that you either open all or none;
Nor can you force it open with a knock,
For violence cannot it break in sunder,
Those who attempt it the event doth mock;
Nay though you could call down the dread∣ful Thunder,
It would nothing avail; who so his stock
Shall thus imploy, may walk at length in thread-bare Cloak.
Page 92
〈1 page duplicate〉
Page 93
〈1 page duplicate〉
Page 94
There is one only Key, this learn to know
And make, then I will you a Master name.
This Key the entrance of the Lock will show,
And being enter'd will unlock the same:
Which being done, to you shall open fly
The twelve Gates of this Castle, great in fame,
Little in bulk, which once I did espy;
Also within it a most noble Game
Fought 'twixt an Eagle volant, and a Lyontame.
FINIS.

AN
EXPOSITION
UPON THE
First Six Gates
OF
Sir GEORGE RIPLEY's
Compound of Alchymie.
VIZ.

1. Calcination.
2. Dissolution.
3. Separation.
4. Conjunction.
5. Putrefaction.
6. Congelation.
Written by
Aeyrenaeus Philalethes, Born English, Cosmopolitan
by Habitation .

[illustration]
LONDON,
Printed for William Cooper at the Pellican
in Little Britain. MDCLXXVII.


Page 97
Sir GEORGE RIPLEY's Compound of Alchymie Expounded by a Son of ART.
The first Gate opened, Which is CALCINATION.
Calcination is the Purgation of our Stone.
WE have led thee as it were by
the hand through many a
waste Field, and many a De∣sart
and Thicket, and now lift up your
eyes and behold where you are, and
now welcom my Friend into the Garden
of the Philosophers; here you may be∣hold
(like a Landskip) a very glorious
Castle, walled about with a very high
wall, and twelve Gates one following
another hindering your entrance and
Page 98

Possession of it at will, one being opened
the rest open of themselves, and yield
to thee a far more renowned Conquest,
then ever Caesar or Alexander won. The
first Gate loe is as it were dug hollow
into the Earth, and little to be seen above
the Superficies: view well the Inscrip∣tion
which is written over it, which is
the words of that Curse which God in∣flicted
on Adam, in the day that he fell,
Dust thou art, and unto Dust thou shalt re∣turn.
Mark the Escutcheon that is set
forth upon the Gate, this signifies unto
thee, that some Great Person is dead
within, therefore behold the Attendants
all stand in Mourning; amongst whom
one with this verse of Solomon, I am
black, but comely, &c.

This Lady the Sages have called Juno,
or the Metallick Nature, which is indeed
very comely, yet black, for why the Sun
hath shined upon her. Another who
seems to supply the room of the Porter,
speaks unto you in these words, Nothing
entreth hither that defileth, or that is un∣clean.
But enough of this, we must not
here stand gazing, lest we be taken for
Page 99

Spyes; but we will knock for a Guide,
who may go along with us; for know
that this Castle is a Garrison, and must
not be viewed without a Guide, who
may conduct us in and out, and shew us
what the places are through which we
pass. And now he is come, I shall ac∣quaint
you somewhat of his conditions,
that you may know how to please him,
that he may be the more willing to go
along with you in the right way, and
not leave you, as he hath done some, nor
mislead you, as he hath done others, who
when they have attempted this work
with good success in the knowledge of
matters requisite, they notwithstanding
have fatally erred, not knowing how to
please their Guide, who hath a humour
of his own not to be equalled in the
World; and if you make him either sul∣len,
or cholerick, you had as good give
over the enterprise.

First of all then know, that for his
parts he is a very stupid Fool, there is
none more simple among all his Bre∣thren;
yet is he most faithfull to his
Lord, and doth all things for him most
Page 100

prudently, ordering all things in the Fa∣mily
very discreetly; which I may rather
ascribe to a natural instinct, then to any
quickness of parts. He is very faithful,
for that cause he will never either ask or
answer any question, but goes on silent∣ly:
Nor will he ever go before you, but
follow; you must be very wary how you
lead him, if he can find an opportunity
he will give you the slip, and leave you
to a world of misfortune. By his coun∣tenance
you shall know whether he be
pleased or displeased; therefore lay bonds
on him, that is, shut him close where he
may not get forth, then go wisely be∣fore
with heat, and ever observe his
countenance as he follows; his anger
you shall know, by redness in his coun∣tenance,
and his sullenness by his lumpish
behaviour; in his good temper he is in∣different
active and merry; and so you
shall pass on forward, or turn, or go back,
as you see his countenance and temper
inclined. In the next place you are to
understand, that he was born to be a
drudge, and is the very Servant unto all
his Brethren; and hereupon he doth as it
Page 101

were monopolize the whole toyl and
task of labour to himself, and if you go
about to do any thing, he will presently
take snuff, and will leave you all the
work to do, and will not do one stroke
more.

Thirdly, he through long custom hath
gotten a habit of perpetual working,
and therefore if you allow him one hours
respite, he will never work more; for
in his Fathers house he committed the
offence of Cham, and is therefore judged
to be a Servant of Servants: his body is
very tender and naked, yet will he have
no Cloaths, nor will he endure any Con∣solidation
of parts without exception;
for in his youth he offended with Ruben,
and went up to his Fathers Couch, and
was for that doomed to a perpetual in∣constancy,
and is as unstable as Water.
These in general are the qualifications of
your Guide, and you must address your
self to him accordingly, or else your la∣bour
will be in vain.

Page 102
Restoring also of his natural heat.
Of Radical humidity it loseth none,
Inducing solution into our Stone most meet.
THe first place which you come to, wor∣thy
your observation, is a large Room
floored with black, the Hangings part
black, bluish, and yellowish, in which
you may see a Carcass intombed, and
very rotten; a Serpent almost dead with
cold, laid to the fire, and a Fountain still
flowing forth to water a Pot which is
nigh to it, in which is planted an Herb
much like to Ros solis, only it hath the
Root black, the Leaves yellow, with
bluish veins and black spots in them con∣tinually
standing in a dew, and over it
the Sun as in the Solstice, shining in its
full vigour, and under in a Fire, as it
were of Aetna burning continually. The
Fountain still sends a few small streams of
Pearly water to the Root of this Herb,
which by insensible pores ascend and
stand like drops discoloured on the
Leaves of the Herb, which seems as
though blasted and withering, and yet
Page 103

always full of drops, which dropping
down again, and rising continually, do
resolve the Tree into a viscous Juice,
which is afterwards dried up into a dry
dust, yet unctuous to sight, and very
black.

After Philosophy I you behight.
THen I lift up mine eyes, and behold
I saw Nature as a Queen gloriously
adorned, sitting upon her Throne, and in
her hand a fair Book, which was called,Philosophy Restored to its Primitive Puri∣ty;whom with low submission I did obey∣sance
to, and she graciously took notice
of me, and gave me this Book to eat
it up, which I did, and straight-way she
had another of the same in her hand:
Then was my Understanding so enlight∣ned,
that I did fully apprehend all things
which I saw and heard; and when I ap∣proached
to any Gate or Door, straight∣way
(as though they were acted by a
sensitive Spirit) they opened of their own
accord: And all in the House did fealty to
me, and said that I was to be honoured as
Page 104

Lord of the place: For, say they, the
Queen and He are in love united, and she
moreover hath plighted her troth to him.Then I considered with my self, and be∣hold
the Book that I had devoured (like
a Charm) had so commanded my Spirits,
that I could think of nothing more than
the enjoyment of this rare Beauty which
I had beheld: And while I was full of
these thoughts, behold I heard a Voice
behind me, saying, What wouldest thou in
this World? I was a little astonished at
the Voice, but yet boldly answered, No∣thing
but that I might once more see that
admirable Perfection which once I beheld in
a Nymph, which not long since I saw, who
with seeming affection did salute me, and
gave me a Book to eat; which when I had
eaten, my Intellectuals seemed as though the
Candle of the Lord had been kindled in them:
But since I could never see her whom my
Heart longs for: Oh that I might only be so
happy again! Then said the Voice, Thou art
happy in that thou hast seen her, more happy
in that she gave thee that Book, which few
in an Age attain to; most happy in that
thou couldest and didst eat it, which every
Page 105

one that hath it cannot do: She therefore
whom thou seekest for, is gone into her re∣tired
Solitudes, and as a Legacy hath left
thee two great Treasures, the Treasure of
Riches, and the Treasure of Long Lif•▪Then said I, Ah Sir, this you tell me of, is no∣thing
but an aggravation of my misery; for all
the wealth in this world I count but as a straw
in comparison of the enjoyment of that most
admirable Lady's presence, whose Service
I should take for a greater happiness, than
if I were Master of all the World besides.
If then I may not see her again, my Life
will be to me a burden, and to what then
will Long Life avail? Thus I sat be∣moaning
my self, and I heard a shrill
Voice as it were close by me, and I look∣ed
suddenly, and behold an unspeakable
Light, in comparison whereof the Sun it
self seemed dark; and close by me I saw
a most secret place, and in it a secret
Room of Diaphanous matter, and round,
and within it this Lady whom I formerly
had seen, upon her Throne; and another
in the person of a King, in most gay Rai∣ment,
as if it were a Robe of beaten
Gold, which reached from his shoulders
Page 106

to the ground, and a Crown of pure
Gold on his head; and a third person,
who like a Water-bearer had a Pitcher
on his shoulder, and in the midst of it
there burned as it were a Lamp: The
sight was excellent, yet I could not be
pleased, for that I saw this Lady stark na∣ked
with this King, so in private; and
while I viewed the Room, I found it was
exquisitely closed on every side, so that
it seemed as if it were made of one intire
piece of Crystal. I marvelled at what I
saw: for the House was but small, the
Chamber less, and the Closet of Crystal
to sight no bigger than a small Egg; and
the three Parties, with all the Accoutre∣ments
of them, might well have been in∣closed
in a Hazel Nut: Yet was their De∣lineaments
so lively, that I might easily
discern her intire shape, whom I could
not but with distracted thoughtfulness
and a sad countenance behold; which
she perceiving, said unto me, Friend, Why
art thou sad? I am not sad, quoth I, most
Noble Lady, but am pensively meditating
on what I behold, which doth not a little
amaze me, the sight not being to be paral∣lell'd
Page 107

in John Tradescants Chamber of Ra∣rities,
which is the System of the Novel
Rarities of the known World: For whom I
lately beheld glorious upon a Throne in the
Majesty of a Queen, I now see cloistered up
in a small Diaphanous Pix, in a stature
so small as is scarce credible: Moreover,
whom I deemed so piously virtuous a Lady,
to be so retiredly naked with a man, only at∣tended
with a Water-bearer, makes me very
thoughtful what this thing should be. More∣over,
it was my hopes so to have ingratiated
my self into your favour, as to have been a
Servant unto you, who I see are otherwise
provided of a Lover. Then said she, My
Friend, what you admire in this strange
Metamorphosis of me, know that it is by a
Magical Vertue, which is alone given to
me from GOD, my immediate Lord and
Ruler; and for any Diabolical Art, which
your Scruple seems to manifest your suspition
of, it is because of your unexperience in
these things; and this your Ignorance is no
way provoking unto me, for in these Affairs
(though a man) yet you are but a Child;
and this liberty I allow all my Sons while
they are Children, so to speak, so to think,
Page 108

and so to act; and I love to hear and an∣swer
their childish prattle. Know then that
the Devil is but one of my Servants, and
in my Kingdom he doth serve GOD, his
and my Lord: And though of all my Ser∣vants
he is the worst, yet he can do nothing
of himself, either without me, or against
me, or above me: He for the most part is a
deceitful Jugler, and doth make things
appear, that are not; but whatever is actu∣ally
effected by him, is nothing but what is
in my Power: He only applies Agents to
Patients, and adds a little of his own vil∣lanous
qualities, as a circumstantial aggra∣vation
of the horror of what he thus (by my
virtue) brings to pass, and then his villa∣nous
mind attributes that to himself, which
is my Act, that so he might arrogate the
honour due to my Lord and his Master.
Now I will tell you a strange thing, which
yet is very true: I am obedient to all my
Subjects, which are many, and they obey
me; I rule them, and they do as it were in∣force
me, for so my Lord hath pleased to
ordain it: If they call me, I am straight
at hand; yea, in my Body which thou seest
(which is no Body (but only representative)
Page 109

for I am all Spirit) I feel the Sympathies
and Antipathies, the Actions and Passions
of every thing in the World; and I must
be always present, for nothing is or can be
well done without I be present: I always
work according to the subject and its disposi∣tion,
which doth alter the effect wonderfully.
In a word, whatever thou seest that I am, and
more then thou canst see by far, though thou
hadst the Eyes of Argus. My Rule is not
as is the Rule of Princes among Men, but
I am serviceable to all, yea to the least
Worm in the World; and because I am so
serviceable, therefore my Master hath ap∣pointed
that nothing can or may disobey me,
or offer violence to me; the Devil here hath
no power, though malice enough: Therefore
my Lord hath given me his own Diplomato make me the more Honourable; first, An
Omnisciency of all things which are done in
the World, as touching the Being, Conserva∣tion,
or Mutation of them; and next, An
Omnipresency, by which I am every where
present at once, and I am seated in the
Will of God, which is my Centre, All my
Subjects are put under Man, therefore he
hath a free power to act any thing within
Page 110

his reach in the World; and the Soul of
Man is as it were a Magnet unto me, and
all my Subjects, in its Exaltation and
Ʋnion, by Faith to my Lord and Master;
though since Man lost his Dignity, he lost
also his Knowledge, and his Will is liable
to the Temptations of the Devil; and so as
many as by renouncing their Creator do de∣vote
themselves to Satan, he hath by his con∣federacy
power to exalt their Will, and to
apply their Power to the effecting of things
possible in Nature, and impossible for the
Devil to perform alone, (whose pride would
scorn to crave help, if he could) and beyond
the knowledge of the inthralled Caytiff, who
mistaking the effect, and not seeing how it
was done by himself and not Satan (though
his power for want of knowledge to employ
it, without his help were made use of by him,
and applied according to his own Devilish
Design) the Wretch is insnared to bind
over both his Soul and Body to the Devil, as
a requital of this Service, so crafty a De∣ceiver
is he. But this being from my pre∣sent
scope, I shall forbear to speak further of
it at present, lest I should distract, not edifie
you. Now as concerning your jealousie for
Page 111

that you see me naked with this King, know
that this place and my Kingdom are in the
State of Innocency, though we are by the
Fall of Adam laid subject to Vanity; and
till the final Restitution of that Fall, I am
forbidden to work any thing of my own ac∣cord
beyond the state of fading corruptibi∣lity,
though all things have an incorrupti∣ble
Spirit, which when Heaven and Earth
shall be renewed, shall cause an Immutable
Glory in all these things. Know then that
this King is my Servant, and he hath many
Brethren who in their passage to him are ta∣ken
Prisoners, and kept in bondage, and
there is no way to Redeem them, unless he
give his Flesh and Blood for their Ransom,
which cannot be effectual, unless he die and
arise from the Dead: This I cannot per∣form
alone my self, nor can any help me
herein but Man alone; for God hath here
limited my power, I cannot bring Agents
and Patients together, though he hath gi∣ven
me power to work on them being compo∣sed,
and to effect what may serve for the
Ransom of those poor Captives, and he hath
given man a free power to act in subordina∣tion
to him in the World, though through
Page 112

the Fall the Wings of this power are not clipt
at all, but clogged with Ignorance, that it is
very uneffectual in comparison of its vir∣tue.
If thou couldest but understand and
believe, thy very Soul would command all
Nature in the whole Fabrick of it: for if
thou didst but know things as they are, thou
wouldest withal clearly see the Dignity of
thy Soul, being the Image of God; and this
would command Faith, and kindle Desire:
Now Faith and a kindled Desire in the Soul
is that extatical Passion which attracts
the whole Phaenomena of Nature. This
is the Dignity of a Mental Man. Now
then, my Friend, hearken to me, and what
I advise, that do; help me in what I can∣not,
and I will help thee in what thou canst
not; so shalt thou be (to GOD subordinate)
Lord both of me and mine; and the Blood
of this King, which redeems his Brethren,
will give thee a Medicine to command all
the Imperfections of thy mortal Body; and
though it be no Antidote against Death,
the irrevocable Decree being past, yet it
triumphs over all the Miseries of Life, both
of Poverty and Sickness, and it possesseth a
Man of the most incomparable Treasures of
Page 113

this World. Then full of Admiration,
with Tears for very Joy trickling down
abundantly, I bespake her, and said, La∣dy,
I thank you for your so great favour to
me, as so familiarly to discourse with me;
Now then, without any Complement, I am
yours (ad usque aras) and whatever you
please, that will I do. Then said she, Ʋn∣der
this Chamber and Closet there is a Stove,
put Fire into it, for this King must sweat to
death. Ah sweet Lady, said I, and what
will become of you? Care not you for that,said she, do you as I bid you: But yet
farther to satisfie your curious mind, let me
tell you, That I indure without hurt the most
violent Fires which are or can be made, for
I am in them all, and no less in the most
frozen places. Then I considered, and
methought my Understanding it was in∣larged,
and I perceived the extent of Na∣ture,
and of a sudden she appeared not
to my sight; but where she was I saw a
most exquisite Light, which took up an
incredible small room, and methoughts
my Head seemed as it were diaphanous:
And while I considered these things, it
came into my mind to wonder what was
Page 114

become of my Guide, for I miss'd him.
While these thoughts perplexed me, an
Answer was given, as if from an intelli∣gent
Spirit within the Glass, saying, Let
not thoughts fill your mind, he whom you
seek is with us, for so it must be, this King
is his Lord. This straight made me view
the complexion of the Water-bearer, and
his countenance told me that he was my
very Guide: Then I viewed his Pitcher
well, and I found that his Pitcher was
clear as pure Silver; and what was
strange, the Bearer, and the Pitcher, and
the Water in it were one; and in the
midst of the Water, as it were in the ve∣ry
centre, there was a most radiant
twinkling Spark, which sent forth its
Beams even to the very surface of the
Water, and appeared as it were a Lamp
burning, and yet no way distinguishable
from the Water. The Voice then spake
to me a second time, Delay not to put Fire
under us, and govern it as you shall hear the
Voice direct you. Then I put Fire in at
the open door at the top of the high Tur∣ret,
and Coals upon it, and caused my
doors to be stopt both above and below,
Page 115

and on every side; only by a secret pas∣sage
I conveyed my Immortal Fire under
the Chamber in which was the Closet,
and forthwith when all things were heat∣ed,
the Water-bearer took his Pitcher,
and through a small Pipe he poured out
his Water, and the Fire came out with
the Water, without any particular shape,
only it added a lustre thereto; and no
sooner was the Water poured forth, but
the Water-bearer with his Pitcher popt
as it were under the streams, and I saw
them no more: And though the clearness
of the Water did make it to appear as it
were Diaphanous, yet I found by a dili∣gent
view that it was not so really, but
only as to apparency, and that it was in∣deed
very compact: And as I wistfully
beheld it, I saw as it were a goodly La∣dy
in the midst of it, which was no way
resembling the former Beauty which I
had discoursed withal, whose Name wasNature; yet indeed very bcautiful, even
to the parallel of Helena. This Lady was
naked, and of an admirable fair comple∣xioned
Skin, as bright as the finest Sil∣ver;
at first she appeared very small, and
Page 116

waxed bigger and bigger, until the Wa∣ter
appeared no more, but she her self
had transmuted its whole substance into
her shape. This sight I beheld with pity,
for she (far unlike unto the first Lady)
was wholly impatient of the heat which I
had made, and yet was so inclosed in the
Closet that she could not get out; she
sweat therefore even as though she
would melt, and seemed as though con∣tinually
fainting: Then the King (who
seemed as it were glad of the heat) seeing
her knew her to be his Sister, his Mother,
and his Wife, and compassionating her
estate, ran unto her and took her in his
Arms, and she feeling him, did so strong∣ly
embrace him, that he could not shake
her off, and with her sweat partly, and
partly with her tears, she did so bestream
his Kingly Robes, which shone like untoTagus or Pactolus, that they were all sud∣denly
changed into a colour Argent: the
King loving her exceedingly, asked her
what she desired? She answered, That
her desire was to have of him Conjugal Feal∣ty;
for, said she, I cannot endure this heat,
but I must die in it, and without me your
Page 117

Highness can have no Off-spring: The
King condescended, and granted her Re∣quest,
and so soon as she conceived the
Kings Seed, she said that she was better
able to endure the Fire which did pre∣vail
upon her.

Therefore not contented, she had a se∣cond,
a third and fourth Benevolence,
even to the eleventh time: Then said
the King, I am very faint and weak: and
trying to go, as formerly, his Legs and
Feet failed him, his Flesh and Body wa∣sted
as it were to nothing, and so conti∣nued
worse and worse, until at length his
Body being thus wasted by Venery, be∣gan
to sweat exceedingly, so long he
sweated, till he was as it were wholly con∣sumed;
and his Wife seeing what fell out,
wept bitterly, and her tears mingling
with her Husbands sweat, grew into a
large stream, in which both she and the
King were drowned; so far I beheld: And
then when they were both wholly out of
sight, I mused at the strangeness of the
object, and while I wondered, methought
I saw them ascend again; but considering
it well, I found that there swam upon
Page 118

the Water a Carcass, which being wholly
void of Life, did with the heat of the
place draw to putrefaction more and
more, so that it grew livid, black, blew∣ish,
and yellowish, and sent up most ve∣nemous
Exhalations, and with its odour
did so infect the Waters, which were be∣fore
of an Argent Clearness, that they
did grow very thick and dark, and at last
black, resembling the form of muddy
slime which is found in Boggs; and at
length with the heat of the Sun the moi∣sture
was wholly dried up (as Moorish
low Grounds in the summer time use to
be) and I sought what was become of my
Bodies, and I found a horrible venemous
tumefied Toad, which seemed as it were
dying; and a Raven almost famished
walking there for to look for meat, light∣ed
upon the Toad, and preyed upon him,
and with its poison died, and made a
most filthy squallid Liquor blacker than
Ink, and thick like to Pitch melted, which
made me to wonder at the sight: And
going to depart, I heard a Voice which
said to me, You must not leave us; if you
do, our Persons and Kingdom is lost with∣out
Page 119

recovery. Then my Eyes were open∣ed,
and I saw Nature walking up and
down among the Carcases, and in her
hand her unparallell'd Lamp; and ta∣king
a more serious view, I saw in those
rotten Atoms the Idea's of all things na∣tural
and supernatural; and I found the
dead King with his Wife were intombed
in a Field Sable, and the Tomb as it were
of polished Jet or Ebony; and as in that
place all things were strange, so most
strange was it that the Tomb and the in∣tombed
Carcass were one, and that in∣separably.
Also upon the Tomb I found
written a Prophecy, viz. That they (if
the Fire were kept equal and continual)
should rise again, and be more glorious
and powerful than ever they were be∣fore.
Then said I to the voice which is
in the Glass, I must be directed both
what, and how, and when to do. The
voice answered me, Take no care, only do
as I shall direct, and all shall be well; in the
mean time you may view the places that
are about, only be sure that you neglect
not your time of attending here: And
for to take away the tediousness which
Page 120

the length of time would otherwise
work, ask of me, and I shall inform you
in whatever you desire, nor shall I think
my discourse to me a burden, so you will
not think your labour a trouble. Then
said I, Not so; though I should be bound
to serve you during my whole Life, yet
should I count it a priviledge, not a bur∣den.
Then she gave unto me as it were
a Ball of fine Silk, wound up as on a
bottom, and said, Make this fast to a
Pin of this Tower, and then go round
and behold the place, it may shorten the
time to you: Carry this bottom with
you, and unwind it as you go, and by
it you may return till you know the
place.

But do not after the common guise.
THen I passed along, and was no soon∣er
out of that place, but a very
thick misty darkness apprehended me,
so thick that I might fell it; and though
my head were as it were transparent and
very light, and I took also a Candle with
me, which was burning there continual∣ly
Page 121

at the entrance of the Tower, yet the
darkness was such, that it would not re∣ceive
the light, for they were not homo∣genial,
but were a little dis-joyned by
the Rays of the Light, and as it were
here and there condensed into strange fi∣gures,
as of Birds, Beasts, and creeping
things of monstrous shapes: And by
reason of this opposition the Rays of the
Light extended but a little way, and the
Light most clear did shoot as it were in
Beams, and the darkness stood as it were
in clusters by it self.

There were as it were a multitude of
men, who seeing my Light in my hand,
which they could not discern well, they
being in that dark which would not be
inlightned, but as through a thick cloud
they beheld my Candle, and judged
it ominous, and left their stations: for
their eyes with dark and smoak were so
tender, that my Candle over-poured
them, and they could not bear its lustre;
therefore they crying out, ran away. I
mused much at this, how they could be
in such Cimmerian Darkness; and as I
wondered, I espied that they had with
Page 122

them Light as it were of Fox-fire, or
rotten Wood, and Glow-worms Tails,
and with this they sat in consultation,
reading Geber, Rhasis, and such whom I
heard them name, and commenting on
them, not without much pleasantness:
Then I considered that the Light which
I had brought with me, did not enligh∣ten
the place, but stood separated as it
were from the darkness; and withal I
remembred that once there was Light in
the World, and the darkness comprehen∣ded
it not, and that darkness had a
false fire Light of its own, with which it
seemed to its inhabitants wonderous well
inlightned: I set down my Candle, and
went with my Thread in my hand, by
which I intended to return. When I was
gone out of sight of my Candle, my
head began to seem as it were opacous,
and a wind had almost blown me down:
Then I took my bottom of Thread, and
made it fast to my Girdle, lest it might
drop out of my hand; and well it was
that I did so, for soon a Vertigo came upon
me, and I fell and slumbered; and when
I awaked, methoughts it was no more
Page 123

darkness, but day-light about me: I won∣dered
at the very strange change, and
still felt for my Thread, which by that
Light I could not see, but only feel it. I
began to look about me, to see where I
was, and behold I was in a ruinous place
of many millions of turnings, each lead∣ing
several ways; and every room was
so inlightned with Fox-fire and Glow∣worm-Tails,
that for want of a better
Light it seemed as if it were day: I took
out of my Pocket a small Book to see if
I could read in it, it was called Enchiri∣dion
Physicae Restitutae, with an Arcanum
at the end of it, and I could not read one
word in it. There met me a man aged
and decrepit, his Face rugged, his Eyes
bleared, his Hands and Fingers corraded,
and saluted me, and said merrily, What
Book have you there? It is, said I, Ar∣canum
Hermeticum. It is a good Book,
saith he. He and Sendivow are the two
best that ever wrote. I but, said I, I went
to peruse my Book, and I can read not
one word in it. That's strange, quoth
he; let me see it: Then I shewed it him,
and he read out of it such strange things
Page 124

that I never had heard of before; and
Sandivogius, saith he, is of the same mind.
Then he begun to read in him, and read
such Processes that I had never heard of.
I do remember well the Authors, and
what they wrote, but never to my re∣membrance
did I find what you read in
them, said I. Look on them your self,
said he, and you shall find it plain: I went
to look on the Book, but could not di∣stinguish
any word in it; which made
me wonder. Then I thought with my
self, that as that Light had a peculiar dif∣ference
from that Light which I saw a∣bout
the Tower where I was before, so
it might have its peculiar Objects: This
Opinion I had confirmed by this, for that
having Geber and Rhasis with me, I tried
how I could read there, and all the Pro∣cesses
I could read very well, only some
places seemed as it were left out, and a
distance of white left: I knew that my
Books were perfect, and some of the pla∣ces
(which were (as they seemed to me)
left out) I remembred very well to be
those places in which the Truth was cou∣ched
in few words: Then I returned by
Page 125

my Thread to my Candle, and straight
my head returned to its former diaphani∣ty:
I took my Candle in my way, and of
a sudden all my places that seemed light
before, returned to be Cimmerian dark∣ness;
only with the time that I had been
there, I found my Eyes were beginning
to grow tender, and smarted and itched
at the first glimpse of this true Light,
which then in comparison of the Light
I had before seen, did not seem barely
Light, but the Super-Coelestial Light of
Paradise. Then I demanded of her with
whom in the Glass I had former con∣verse,
concerning what I had seen. She
told me, That they were such who wrot
in Alchymy according to the Light of Fan∣cy,
and not of Nature; though to them
their Light seem clear enough, yet can
they see nothing by it but what is phan∣tastical,
and mystically or sophistically
written by the Envious, for the seducing
of such fanciful Doters: therefore when
once the Light of Nature is brought to
their station, it discovers Cimmerian dark∣ness
there, where their imaginary Light
only shines, such as is Fox-fire and Glow∣worms
Page 126

Tails, that shine only in the dark;
This Light makes their Eyes so tender,
that the Lamp of Nature makes them fly.
Moreover, whatever is written accord∣ing
to this Light, they cannot see, nay
they cannot endure the Light of the true
Luna of the wise men: for any true
Light discovers their Darkness, and yet
their Darkness is uncapable of apprehen∣ding
the Light. Now in that you went
in among them without your Candle, it
was a bold adventure, for had you lost
your Thread, you could never have re∣turned.
Then I looked into my Tower,
and did as I was directed; and again I
went to view those parts of Cimmerian
Darkness once more, yet with my Can∣dle
in mine hand, and my Thread at my
Girdle; when I came the second time, at
the sight of this Light all fled, so that I
could not meet with any, but I entered
into several turnings which I saw, and
found in them several works curiously
erected, in which I might guess they
aimed at nothing less than the Philoso∣phers
Stone.

Page 127
With Sulphurs.
I Found one Furnace most curiously
built, in which all degrees of heat ima∣ginable,
by the Art of man, might be
kept with one fire; in which was set a
multitude of curious Glasses, in which
were several Matters, some digesting,
others subliming, others distilling, others
calcining, and about the Glasses and the
Furnace was written this of Geber, Per
Deum Sulphur est omne illud illuminans
quod est supra terram. By this I knew,
that Sulphur was the subject on which
was wrought; and indeed with so great
cunning, that I could not but admire the
ingenuity of the men: and knowing
that what a man prizeth, (though it be
a trifle) yet to spoil or destroy that
would be an injury, I meddled not with
any Glass, (for indeed there were La∣bourers
that fled not, because they knew
nothing, but only wrought as they were
directed:) and when I came, they could
not perceive that I had any Candle in
my hand, and wondred their Masters
Page 128

should fly so from a phansie. Moreover
I found that they could not see any light
from the Fox-fire and Glow-worms tails,
which were there; but the place being
dark, as being under ground, they
wrought by Candles and Lamps, which
yet could give their Masters no light,
but they sought all the world over for
those shining subjects: Yet I could not∣withstanding
both discern utter darkness,
which the Rays of my Candle would not
enlighten. Then said I to the Work∣men,
What is this that is brought in here?
Oh, said they, they are Sol and Luna
terrestrial, whereby our Masters can see
clearly the Natures of all things in the
world, and to make by their light the
great Elixir; and though we can see no
light in them, or very little, it is because
of our Ignorance in these things, there∣fore
we use our Lamps to work by.
Where are your Masters? said I. They
ran away, said they, because when you
came they said you were a Devil, and
brought an ominous light with you, and
if they did but once see that with a full
view, their Works would all vanish;
Page 129

they did therefore lay a few Charms, and
ran away. Then I looked, and the
ground under me was full of Crosses and
Circles, at which I laughed, and depar∣ted
into another Room.

Or Salts preparate in divers wise,
Neither with Corrosives, nor with Fire alone,
Neither with Vinegar, nor with Waters ar∣dent,
Nor with the vapour of Lead, our Stone
Calcined is according to our intent.
All those to Calcining which are so bent,
From this hard Science withdraw their hand,
Till they our Calcining better understand.
ANd there I found in the like sort rare
Furnaces, with this Inscription, Sal
Metallorum est Lapis Philosophorum:
many processes I beheld, which would
be tedious to relate. On I passed from
thence, and in another Room I found
large Furnaces, in which they were la∣bouring
about Waters fort; others were
with strong reverberations calcining
Lead, Tin, Copper, Iron, and all Metals
Page 130

and Minerals; others were drawing Spi∣rit
of Vinegar with a great care, till it
became exquisitely sharp, and in this
they laboured to calcine several Metal∣line
bodies; others were rectifying Spi∣rit
of Wine, so long till no Body almost
or Receiver could hold it, it was so sub∣tile,
and this they said was the true
Water of Life that must do the work;
others were subliming of Lead, hoping
after it was exquisitely sublimed, to have
out of it that Menstruum which should
effect the Stone, without any further lay∣ing
on of hands. This when I had seen,
I returned to my Furnace, and recruited
my Fire as I was directed, and made a
particular relation of what I had seen,
and desired the verdict of Nature upon
them all. She told me, That they could
never by this way expect any thing but
loss. I asked her if they might not with
trying many things, at length hit the
right. She told me, No, they had not
any ground of truth, nor could they ex∣pect
either the great secret, or any other
particular profitable truth, in that way.
Then said I, Noble Lady, pray let me
Page 131

know the reason of their error, that I
may know how to avoid the like.

For by such Calcination their bodies be shent,
Which minisheth the moisture of our Stone;
Therefore when bodies to powder are brent,
Dry as ashes of Tree or Bone,
Of such Calxes then will we none:
For moisture we multiply radical,
In Calcining minishing none at all.
THen said she, Besides that they work
not on the true Matter, they work
not in a right way, which are two most
desperate errors; for our work is to
make a substance fluid, penetrating and
entring, that may have ingress into im∣perfect
Metals: for which cause we do
preserve humidity, without which our
Stone cannot be penetrative. So then in∣stead
of purifying the crude, and ripen∣ing
what is raw by these Calcinations,
the tender Soul is put to flight, and the
crudities are the more strongly vitrified,
so that all hope of fruit is wholly by this
means taken away: for take this for a
rule, whatever either by violence of Fire,
Page 132

or Corrosives, is turned into a dry Pow∣der
or Calx, it is wholly reprobate in our
work: for though we Calcine, yet it is
in such a Fire in which our moisture is
not burnt, and in such a Vessel so clo∣sed
that the Spirits are retained, and in a
word so sweet is our Regimen in refe∣rence
to our Matter, that moisture is ad∣vanced,
and is made more unctuous, and
by consequent more ingressive.

And for a sure ground of our true Calcina∣tion,
Work wittily only kind with kind,
For kind unto kind hath appetitive incli∣nation.
BUt all this is not enough to declare
our Calcination, for Operation fol∣lows
Preparation, and he that doth not
before he begin to work, prepare his
Matters, and set true Agent and Patient
together, it is not his Regimen that can
or will produce any thing. Therefore first
you must know, that we joyn kind with
kind in our work, for Nature is mended
and retained with its own Nature: for
this cause is our King wedded to the
Page 133

Water-bearers Daughter, of which Wa∣ter-bearer
I told you that his Body, his
Pitcher, and the Water in it, are all one;
and his Daughter was the Queen which
arose out of the water, in which was
seen a Lamp burning: Wonder not at it▪
that a Queen should spring out of a W••ter-bearers
loins, for the King is the 〈◊〉
Son, and he is greater then both. For
know, that in this place there is nothing
so hard to get as Water, which cannot be
brought but by him that hath the Keys
of the whole Kingdom. Take this then
for a great secret, our Water-bearer is
Father to the King and Queen: the King
being at perfect years, is at his own dis∣pose,
and enjoys more Riches then his
Father; but his Father hath the Key of
a Closet, in which is Riches enough for
all in the Kingdom, to make every Sub∣ject
as rich as the King; but the dispose
of this wealth the King only is to have,
yet can he not have it in his possession
till he marry his Sister, which is in the
water of the Pitcher invisible. This his
Sister, is also his Mother and his Father,
for it is one with the Water-bearer, the
Page 134

Water and the Pitcher, as is said. By rea∣son
of his Consanguinity the King em∣braceth
his Sister very desirously, and she
by his embraces appears as a Queen, and
then the Water-bearer, and his Water
and Pitcher vanish, and the King and
〈◊〉 remain alone: at length both King
〈◊〉 Queen are drowned, after the im∣moderate
use of Venery, and violent
sweating, weeping and pissing, which
sweat, tears and urine, do make one Sea,
in which swim two Fishes without flesh
and bones, which after resolve and make
one Broth, which is called Water per∣manent.

Who knoweth not this in knowledge is blind,
He may forth wander as mist in the wind,
Wotting never with profit where to light,
Because he understands not our words aright.
THus though I have somewhat Meta∣phorically
deciphered our true prin∣ciples,
yet so plainly as that you may
with diligence understand the meaning;
and unless you know this, you will pro∣ceed
blind-fold in your work, not know∣ing
Page 135

the causes of things, so that every
puff of Sophisters will toss you, like as a
Feather is tossed in the Air with a blast
of wind: for our Books are full of ob∣scurity,
and Philosophers write horrid
Metaphors and Riddles to them who are
not upon a sure bottom, which like to a
running Stream will carry them down
head-long into despair and errors, which
they can never escape till they so far un∣derstand
our writings, as to discern the
subject Matter of our secrets, which being
known the rest is not so hard.

Joyn kind therefore with kind, as good rea∣son is,
For every Burgeon answers his own seed,
Man getteth Man, a Beast a Beast I wis,
Further to treat of this it is no need.
But understand this point if you will speed,
Each thing is first Calcin'd in his own kind,
This well conceiv'd, fruit therein shalt thou find.
STep therefore not one step further till
you have learned this Lesson, name∣ly,
to wed Consanguinity with Consan∣guinity,
Page 136

and consider well what it is you
desire to produce, and according to that
let be your intention. Take the last
thing in your Intention, for the first thing
in your Principles: this is according to
Nature, and it is the true ground of all
Generation, for out of kind nothing doth
engender; a Man begetteth a Man, and
not a Lion, nor doth a Lion beget a
Sheep, a Rose doth not produce a Thorn,
nor a Nettle a Gilliflower; and so, if
need were, I could particularly demon∣strate
it throughout all Vegetable, Ani∣mal,
and Mineral Bodies, but it is so plain
a thing that I need say no more, but
leave it with you as the Foundation-stone
on which you shall build whatever
you intend. Attempt nothing out of its
own nature and kind, lest you reap a
fancy instead of truth. Whatever you in∣tend
to increase by way of Multiplica∣tion,
attempt it only in its own kind;
and so in this work especially, in which
Calcination is the mingling of Seminal
influence, which must be done in the
same way of homogeneity. If you ap∣prehend
this in its cause aright, and know
Page 137

how to apply this doctrine in your ope∣ration
as you ought, in this you will find
great benefit, and a door hereby opened
to the discovery of greater Mysteries.

And we make Calx unctuous, black, white, and red.
ANd now the opportunity of this dis∣course,
leads me to handle our Magi∣cal
Calxes, know that we do Calcine
three times in our work, of which the
general principle is, that our Calxes are
not combust powders, but unctuous, for
in them we innoble the Sulphurs, which
are the Basis of Radical Humidity, which
Raymund calls Oyls and Unguents: So
then our Calxes are one in kind, and do
only differ in colour and maturity. Our
first is black of the blackest, and is called
Saturn; our second white of the whitest,
and is called Luna; our third is red of
the reddest, and is called Sol.

Page 138
Of three degrees or our Base be perfite.
THese Calxes are the periods of so
many Circulations, and have so many
degrees allowed to each of them; our
first Circulation confounds the Elements,
our second renews the Air, and the third
exalts the Fire, and then is our Stone
perfect.

Flexible as Wax, else stand they in no stead.
OUr Calxes thus graduated, are distin∣guishable
from all the Calxes in the
world; first, in that they are done with∣out
any laying on of hands: secondly,
from their exquisite subtilty of parts, (for
they are finer then Atoms of the Sun)
joyned with an eminent Humidity, by
reason of which, to the astonishment of
the beholders, they flow like unto mel∣ted
Wax; the first in the Glass by conti∣nuance
of heat, and so the second as not
being come to their period of perfection,
and the second and third upon a plate of
hot Metal, or on a melted Metal, or on
Page 139
Mercury heated so long till it is ready
to fly.

By right long process, as Philosophers do write,
A year we take or more for our respite:
For in less space our Calxes will not be made,
Able to tyne with Tincture that will not fade.
WHich last Calxes, as they are the pe∣riod
of Arts skill, and Natures
power in this thing, so they are a conside∣rable
time in perfecting; the former in
five months, viz. the white, and the red
in nine months and a half, which is the
true time, and a month we allow for the
preparing of our Materials, and three
months for Fermentations and Imbibi∣tions,
so that our whole Operation is
above a year. For indeed it is not an or∣dinary
thing that we expect, but a Fire-abiding
Tincture, which is unfading and
incorruptible, which cannot be expected
in a short time; yet verily the Industry
of the Work-man may forward, or set
back his Work, a month, two, or three,
Page 140

according to his more exquisitely pre∣paring
of his Matters, and governing of
his Fire, whose exact Regimen is for
speed, or retarding of the Work, almost
all in all.

And for thy proportion thou must beware,
For therein mayst thou be beguil'd,
Therefore thy Work that thou not mar.
AFter the knowledge of the true mate∣rial
Subject, and its Preparation, the
next main thing to be understood is the
mystery of Proportion, which is a secret
of no light concernment, for many erre
therein. Thou shalt therefore under∣stand,
that our Proportion is two-fold,
Internal and External; the Internal pon∣dus
is a Labyrinth in which all erre who
know our Subject as many do, but not its
Proportion. He who would effect any
thing, must principally learn this which
is set down in Golden words, in Bernard
Trevisan his Treatise of the Chymical Mi∣racle:
The Sulphur, saith he, which is in
the Mercury, and predominates not, is the
Fire alone which governs the whole Work;
Page 141

and he therefore that in these things would
be a skilful Artist, let him know how much
Fire is beyond other Elements in subtilty,
and what a proportion of it will overcome all
the rest. These Golden words, worthy to
be ingraven in Marble, are the true foun∣dation
of our pondus.

With Mercury as much then so subtil'd,
One of the Sun, two of the Moon,
Till all together like pap be done.
BUt there is an External proportion,
which is as necessary as the other, or
else the Work will either for lack, or ex∣cess
of moisture, be destroyed; and that
is thus: Take thy Body which without
any equivocation is most pure Gold, let
it be exquisitely purged, then filed or la∣minated,
or calcined with Mercury, as
is vulgarly known; of this take one
part, and of our Water (which is with∣out
equivocation Argent-vive animated,
which then we call our Luna) two parts,
mix them together in an Amalgama, and
grind them in a Mortar of Glass, or on a
Marble, till they become very soft, and
Page 142

all the grettiness of the Body be subtili∣zed
with the Mercury, that they may seem
to be one pap or paste, which we call
Inceration.

Then make the Mercury four to the Sun,
Two to the Moon as it should be.
NOw pluck up your attention, for my
speech will be difficult. When your
Body to your Mercury in outward pro∣portion
is one to two, then must your
Mercury in its inward proportion be just
opposite, that is, four to two, else you
shall never make Harmony that is good
Musick; for do not think it is all one,
with one and the same proportioned
Mercury, to put either one of the Body
to two of the Water, or one to three, or
two to three, or three to four; no verily,
till you come to this, to measure your
Lamp clibanically to your Furnace, you
are yet in the dark for Practice, though
you may be true in Theory. I almost
tremble to speak of this point, for it is
the very wilde of all those who study
this Art, and cannot come to the end of
Page 143

their desires for want of true information
in this particular. Know then, that when
thy Mercury is to Sol in external pondus
two to one, it must be as I said in respect
of its own internal qualities, four to the
Sun to two of the Moon; therefore, saith
Artephius, that our Water is of kin to the
Sun and to the Moon, but more to the
Sun then to the Moon: Note this well,
that is four to two, as Ripley hath it. This
is indeed a great secret, which hath be∣fooled
many.

Now know that our Eagles duly pre∣pared
are accommodated to the Sun from
three to ten, so that four to the Sun will
be just seven; and thy Mercury thus pro∣portioned,
let it be two of the Moon to
one of its Body. Know also, that our Wa∣ter
is not called the Moon, but in, or in
reference to conjunction, and so let the
Moon be two. In reference to its one
Constitution, it is called Mercury, (for so
it ought to be in that form and flux)
and so it ought to be four to the Sun, that
is seven Eagles, which are to the Sun not
before three, to which adding four, you
make seven.

Page 144
And thus thy Work must be begun,
In figure of the Trinity,
Three of the Body, and of the Spirit three;
And for the unity of the substance spiritual,
One more then of the substance corporal.
ANd thus thy Work is brought to the
true Touch-stone, and that is Trinity
in Unity; for in this pondus of your Mercury
you have a potential Body, which is one
part of three of the Mercury, which may
by Art be made appear. This potential
Body is to be reckoned to your actual
Body, and that makes with it two, and
so in potentia you have two of the Body
to one of the Spirit, which is three to
three, and one to one. And this poten∣tial
Body is at first spiritual and volatile,
(in manifesto) for unity sake, without
which could be no unity. Thus then a
potential Body, but an actual Spirit, is
joyned with an actual Body, by which
means the actual Body, when it is actually
dissolved and made no Body, but a Spi∣rit
or Spiritual Body, then this potential
Spiritual Body (which was in the Water
Page 145

before) receives this potentialized Body,
and both unite and congeal together,
and is endowed with a double nature
and virtue, that is, Spiritual and Corpo∣ral,
Heavenly and Earthly. And thus is
made an union, of which the proportion
of the Water in its first preparation, and
its due mixing with its Body, was the
moving cause, really though hiddenly en∣forcing
the Compound by the necessity
of its end, which it could not have done
had it not been so proportioned.

By Raymunds Repertory this is true
Proportion, there who list to look;
The same my Doctor to me did shew.
THis is the true meaning of our pro∣portions,
both according to the my∣stery
of Internal and External pondus;
this is that which Authors have so much
concealed, both Raymund, Arnold, Al∣bert,
and all who ever have wrote of it:
I have broke the Ice first in plain disco∣vering
the mystery.

Yet for all this, you stand in need ei∣ther
of a Master, or of more then ordi∣nary
Page 146

pains, accompanied with the bles∣sing
of God, e•se never look to find out
this mystery, which though by me revea∣led
more plainly then any, yet it will and
must remain secret even till the fulness
of time.

But three of the Spirit Bacon took
To one of the Body: For which I awoke
Many a night ere I it wist.
And both be true, take which you list.
THere is another External proportion,
which is three of the Spirit to one of
the Body, according to the working of
Noble Bacon, and many others; which
though it seem little to differ from the
former, yet there is a wide difference:
I know them both, but shall not set down
the grounds of the other; if you under∣stand
the former, the rule of it may guide
you in the latter; for there is an infalli∣ble
rule of proportion, how the External
and Internal ought to concur, to make a
sweet Harmony: only let me this assure
you out of Norton, That if thy Body
have plenty of drink, Then must thou wake
Page 147

when thou desir'st to wink; it will cost thee
more assiduity of boiling for to dry up
three parts, then two parts of Water;
and there must be necessarily a diversity
of Internal pondus, for the Water being
of one and the same Internal heat, and
the External fire being the same, the dif∣ference
of decoction between two parts
and three will be half in half almost until
blackness, though after blackness there is
one and the same time to both. Yet ei∣ther
of these proportions are true, only
you must be sure to qualifie your Mer∣cury
in heat, and your Regimen of your
Furnace accordingly as you work with
one or other of these proportions, or else
your first token of the Crows head will
come wonderful slowly.

If the Water also be equal in proportion
To the Earth with heat in due measure,
Of them will spring a new Burgeon,
Both white and red in a Tincture pure,
Which in the Fire shall ever endure.
Kill thou the quick, the dead revive;
Make Trinity Ʋnity without any strive.
This is the surest and best proportion,
Page 148
For there is least of the part spiritual;
The better therefore shall be solution,
Then if thou didst it with Water small,
Thine Earth over-glutting which loseth all.
Take heed therefore to Potters Loam,
And make thou never too nesh thy Womb.
That Loam behold how it temper'd is,
The mean also by which it is Calcinate,
And ever in mind look thou bear this,
That never thine Earth with Water be suffo∣cate.
ALso if your Water have its proportion
qualified accordingly, you may tem∣per
it with your Earth almost in an equal
quality, that is, two to three, or three to
four; but be sure then of your due go∣vernment
of external Fire, and a just size
of your Vessel, and so you may expect
from this mixture Conception and Gene∣ration:
for in this pondus you shall find
the death of the Spirit, and the quick∣ning
of the Body, and the exalting of
your Tincture first into white, and after
that into red, which will have ingress in∣to
Bodies, and tyne them permanently
and radically. Though the Tincture is
Page 149

largest where the Water is most, but the
work is speediest where the Water is
least, the Fire is also less hazardable;
but your true proportion of your Mer∣cury
for such a pondus is hard to be found,
and thou wilt not easily find it unless
thou be very skilful; the middle propor∣tion
is less difficult, that of three to one is
worse, for a Tyro, because he may very
easily have his time made tedious by it.
The last would be better for such a one, if
it were not so hard to apprehend, for the
Body would soon be made no Body, and
the Spirit mortified, and so Union would
follow in a short time, in comparison
to other proportions. So then if thou
knowest how to prepare thy Mercury
aright for its Internal proportion, the
lesser thou puttest of the Spirit, the better
and quicker shall be thy Calcination and
Dissolution; and the more thou givest of
the Water, the longer thou shalt be in
attaining the mastery: but if thou glut
thy Earth with Water, thou wilt so suffo∣cate
the active virtue, that thy moisture
will not be dried up; at least it would re∣quire
so tedious a decoction, that thou
Page 150

wouldest never see the effect. But the
mediocrity is for thee the best, at least at
first; be not too covetous, nor too pro∣digal,
for over-driness and over-moisture
are both enemies to Generation, and
make a barren Womb. If thou be'st witty
to apprehend therefore, I shall shew you
the certain way of External proportion;
for know, that as the Water is qualified
internally, so doth it act externally, and
if thou canst apprehend the sympathy
that is between the inward quality, and
the outward effect, thou mayst easily dis∣cern
by what is apparent to sight, that
which is hiddenly contained. Then for
your true information take this rule:
Let your Body be very well subtilized,
and very pure, (which is a great matter,
at the least 24 Carrats) mix this at first
with twice as much of its Water, and
grind it either on a clean Glass, or Mar∣ble
Mortar; grind it thorowly, as Pain∣ters
use to grind their Colours, and
make not a light matter of this, for lack
of one half hour or hours pains in thy
Amalgamation, thou mayst set thy work
backward 20 or 30 days; for the more
Page 151

subtlely the Amalgama is mixed, the more
easily▪ and speedily it resolves into Mer∣cury,
and is wrought upon, and the signs
appear. When thou hast soundly and
well ground it, and washed it very clean,
and dried it very thorowly, so that there
be not the least moisture in it, observe
the temper; if it be plyable like to Paste,
yet so as when you incline it this way or
that, you see no Water run to the incli∣ning
side, which you may easily discern,
it is a good & sure temper; but if it be so
hard and dry, that it will not spread easily,
it lacks moisture; or if that Hydropi∣cal
water run as it were within a skin, to
the declining side of your Amalgama,
add more of your Body to it, till you see
that sign no more; and grind it thorow∣ly,
as is said, and rather chuse to lean to
the other hand, then to this, for there is
nothing more irksome to an Artist in his
Scholarship, then to wait for his signs
beyond the time.

Page 152
Dry up thy moisture with heat most tem∣perate.
Help Dissolution with moisture of the Moon,
And Congelation with the Sun, then hast thou done.
WHen thou hast done this, then be sure
to decoct it in a very gentle Fire till
it be dry, not by exhaling the Water,
but by coagulating it with the Body, in
which thy main care must be, that thy
Vessel be close, and thy Fire gentle:
Now the way to distinguish a gentle
from a violent Fire, is a thing deeply
concealed by the envious, I shall prescribe
some few rules.

1. Know that it is the internal Fire of
the Sulphur of thy Water, which doth
perform the whole work.

2. That the external Fire is but an
outward circumstance, which yet is so
absolutely necessary, that nothing can be
effected without it.

3. The Regimen of the Fire is one Li∣near
decoction, from the beginning to the
end of the Work, boiling the thick, and
Page 153

subliming the thin, and so dissevering
both (suaviter & cum ingenio) according
to old Hermes.

4. All our Mastery consists in Vapour,
which cannot be done without Sublima∣tion
and Distillation; for if our Spirit
ascended not in a living form, it would
all ascend and hang; but ascending
quick, it returns again and moistens the
Body.

5. Our Distillation or Circulation, is
not without a constant motion of Separa∣tion;
for as the subtle is separated from
the gross by Sublimation, so the thick of
that which is below is severed from the
thin, which is by continual boiling and
decocting, without a moments intermissi∣on:
Therefore, saith Hermes, thou shalt
sever the subtle from the gross, and the
thick from the thin.

6. Our tender Spirit learns every day
more and more to suffer Fire; and there∣fore,
saith Arnold, boil it with a Fire
daily increasing: yet is it but one degree
of Fire, and that is boiling, till the Wo∣mans
Empire is vanquished; and then
there is another degree, and that is roast∣ing,
Page 154

which hath two periods, Fixation
and Calcination: therefore say Philoso∣phers
in the beginning, Coque, that is,
Boil, for as much as the Stone is moist;
and at the end they say, Assa, that is,
Roast, for then the Stone is dry.

7. The periods of the strength of the
Fire are in this time many: every day if
thou canst, augment a little, that it may
increase insensibly, and you will find the
effect the more sweetly and speedily.

8. The Philosophers in their descripti∣on
of the Fire, and its degrees, did more
observe their matter and its capacity, then
the Fire it self.

9. They chiefly liken their Work to
Man's Generation, and so they call their
Compound, Man: therefore saith Ripley,
remember Man is the most Noble Crea∣ture.

10. This is the true meaning of Ar∣nold's
four degrees of Fire, Primus forme∣tur
ut sensus ei dominetur; that is, the
Stone being compared to Man, and its
first moist Regimen to a Bath; the first
degree makes it sweat gently, as a Bath
to a Man, which is less hot then he can
Page 155

suffer, doth cause a gentle sweat. Sensi∣bus
aequato gaudet natura secundo, is the
second degree, in which sweat is exceed∣ingly
caused, as a Bath which is as hot as
a man can possibly suffer, causes a most
violent sweat. Tertius excedit & cum
tolerantia laedit, is the third degree, which
causeth bubbling and swelling, and an∣swers
to that heat which will blister a
mans hand; for our Compound in this
heat riseth in blisters, which fall and rise
continually. Destructor sensus gaudet pro∣cedere
quartus, is the fourth heat of Con∣gelation,
which takes away sense, that is,
quickness, and brings in siccity, just as
the cauterizing heat sears the flesh, and
drys the moisture. Thus hiddenly did that
subtle Sophister veil his Fires.

11. Know that after 40 or 46 days con∣tinually
boiling, the moisture will begin
to waste, and the Compound will begin
to dry; which thou shalt know, in that
the boiling will begin to turn to a swel∣ling,
like to Puff-paste or Leavened∣dough.

12. Know that in 36 days thou mayst
have thy moisture begin to congeal, if
Page 156

thou be exact in thy Fire, and Propor∣tions
both inward and outward.

13. Know that thy Glass must be thick,
and very strong, and no less strongly
closed, lest it break with those winds
which the first decoction will raise in thy
Vessel.

14. Let its neck be somewhat long,
and fastned, that the motion which is in
the Glass may not cause it (by reason of
the length and thickness of the neck, and
the Sublimation that is still in it, in drops
which make it heavy) to sway the
little Body one way or other; for if it
incline, the Matter will be apt to grow
to the inclining side, which should be
avoided.

15. Let the neck be considerably
cooler then the other part, that thy Va∣pours
may condense in it, which else will
burst the Glass violently; so mayst thou
give thy Fire more strong then other∣wise,
and let thy nest be guarded from
unnecessary heats and colds, which there∣fore
would have holes at the top of the
Cover, which may shut over every Glass,
and let out a part of the neck, which
Page 157

would be very advantageous both for
the fastning of the Glass, and condensing
of Vapours.

16. This boiling will begin in the first
three days, and if you be a good
Work-man, in the first 24 hours; and
from its first ebullition your time is to be
reckoned.

17. When you see the Water thicken
in its boiling, there is less danger of
the Fire.

18. If your Fire go out, your Stone
dies.

19. Every intermission of your Fire, is
a wasting both of its strength and vir∣tue;
and besides the most tedious pro∣traction
of time, it makes the Stone sub∣ject
to many Sicknesses, which would re∣quire
a most subtle Philosopher to amend,
and it lays your Stone in danger of ha∣ving
a return of the Crows Pullets to
their nest, after they are fled, which is an
ominous sign.

20. Your Gold is not totally lost be∣fore
blackness perfect; yet it may be so
metamorphosed, as to puzzle the best
Mechanick to reduce it, and then it is
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never so full of Spirit as it was before.

21. Yet some of it will be lost in a
short decoction, and most of it in thirty
days. In a Fire then governed according
to these Rules, dry up thy moisture: and
that thou mayst dry up the moisture of
thy Water, thou must dissolve the Com∣pages
of thy Body, so then thy Water
dissolves thy Body, and thy dissolved
Body re-congeals it self by a further de∣coction,
and with it self congeals the Wa∣ter,
which in dissolution was so united as
to make one with it.

Four Natures into a fifth so shalt thou turn,
Which is a Nature most perfect and tem∣perate.
THus shalt thou turn thy four qualities
in which were repugnancy, into a
fifth which is temperate; that is, thou
shalt in this driness of Calcination, recon∣cile
the Mercury with its qualities of cold
and moisture, to Sulphur with its quali∣ties
of heat and driness, so shall thy Ele∣ments
remain at the bottom, and thy Ex∣halations
shall cease, and the moisture
Page 159

being daily terminated into driness, by
the ferment of the Body, as Milk by Run∣nit
is terminated into Cheese, thou shalt
have a middle product, partaking of the
complexion of either Parent.

But hard it is with thy bare foot to spurn
Against a bar of Iron, or Steel new acuate;
For many so do which be infatuate,
When they such high things take in hand,
Which they in no wise understand.
THus we have plainly and faithfully
done our duty, and by a Line as it
were have dissevered the Truth from
Falshood; yet we know, that in the
World our Writings shall prove as a cu∣rious
edged Knife; to some they shall
carve out Dainties, and to others it shall
serve only to cut their Fingers: yet we
are not to be blamed; for we do seriously
profess to any that shall attempt this
Work, that he attempts the highest piece
of Philosophy that is in Nature; and
though we write in English, yet our
Matter will be as hard as Greek to some,
who will think they understand us well,
Page 160

when they misconstrue our meaning most
perversly: For is it imaginable that they
who are fools in Nature, should be wise
in our Books, which are testimonies un∣to
Nature?

In Eggs, in Vitriol, or in Blood,
What Riches ween they there to find?
If they Philosophy understood,
They would not be in working so blind,
Gold and Silver to seek out of its kind:
For like as Fire of burning principle is,
So the principle of gilding is Gold I wis.
If thou therefore intend for to make
Gold or Silver by craft of our Philosophy,
Thereto neither Eggs nor Blood thou take,
But Gold aud Silver, which naturally
Calcined wisely, and not manually,
A new Generation will forth bring,
Increasing its kind as doth every other thing.
SOme I know will serve my Book as
they have served others, out of it they
will read their own fantastick processes,
which I never dreamt of, nor yet are they
in Nature; and whatever I write most
plainly, they will Allegorize, and say it is
Page 161

true, for matter of Operation he wrought
well, but withall very enviously and my∣steriously:
he calls the matter Gold, and
Mercury, but that is but allusively; but
he meant Egg-shels calcined, or Vitriol,
or Mans Blood, or Dew, or Rain-water,
or Salt-peter, or Nitre, or Tartar, or this
or that thing, according to their sordid
fancy, and so they will proceed, nothing
unsettled in their fancies by what I have
candidly written. Gross Sots, thus to
think that I in what I without any equi∣vocation
call Gold and Mercury, they
should make to allude to such trifles:
it is the sign of an Owl to be blinder, by
how much the Sun shines clearer; let me
therefore to satisfie the Ingenious, profess
and protest, that without any Allusion or
Figure in speaking, our Matter is Gold,
even the purest that is sold, or can be
bought; this is our Masculine Sperm.
And our other principle is Mercury, like
to that which is commonly sold, in form,
in flux and colour, only it is brighter, and
some what more ponderous; and without
any Metaphor we call it Argent vive.
In the making of this Mercury is all our
Page 162

secret, and in the Regimen of the Fire
according to its capacity, consists the
whole Mastery. O fools and blind! think
you to gather Grapes of Thorns, or Figs
of Thistles? wherefore do you thus waste
your Goods, proceeding in your Work,
as an Ass to his Crib, never considering
the nature of the thing you go about?
If Gold and Silver be your intention to
produce, in what would you find them?
in Eggs, or Blood, in Salts, or such things?
what a madness is this? to what end think
you these operations will tend? what
conformity is there between what you
seek, and that which you take in hand?
do you not consider the difference of im∣position
between those Subjects, and Me∣tals?
how do you think that they should
give weight to imperfect Bodies, when as
they themselves are far more light them∣selves?
how can you expect from them
a specifick perfect Metalline Tincture,
which have not any thing Metalline in
them? You see not your own madness.
It is no light matter to cause a Body,
which perhaps is 10 or 12 parts at the
least in 16 defective of the dimensions of
Page 163

Gold, to penetrate its own dimensions so
many times, to answer your fond desires.
This which you attempt is to force Na∣ture,
and to create Sperms, both which
are vain to undertake, and truly impossi∣ble.
Leave then this Sophistry, and im∣brace
true Light. To create Sperms is
Gods alone property, and every thing
hath its own Sperm, as it hath its own
Form: there is nothing that hath a semi∣nal
virtue applicable to two things, every
thing hath its own Seed, and according
to its own Form. Gold therefore and
Silver being thine intention, let the same
be thy subject to work upon; Gold is
thy first Basis, for thy white must first
come out of thy red, and when thy white
Stone is perfect, then mayst thou use
Luna vulgar. Now Gold must have its
hidden Seed extracted, and that is done
by Mercury in Calcination, for that ope∣ration
is the Mineral Copulation, in
which the Seeds are sent forth and min∣gled
together, then shall the old Body
die, and a new Body shall rise again, en∣dowed
with a multiplicative virtue, ac∣cording
to the nature of all things; for
Page 164

it savours rankly of absurdity and igno∣rance,
to allow all things almost a multi∣plicative
power, and to deny it to Gold,
the most perfect of all sublunary things.

And if it true were that profit might be,
In things which are not Metalline.
I But some will say, How will you an∣swer
the Philosophers, who affirm that
their Stone is in all things, though in some
things nearer, and in some things at grea∣ter
distance, yet in all things according
to the rule of (propinquius & remotius?)
To such I answer, I grant and know that
all things originally owe all their princi∣ple
material unto Water, and their for∣mal
unto Light; and according to the
congress of these two principles, through
the command of the Architect, this Light
doth illuminate the material Water in a
singular way, according to the Ideal spe∣cies
which were before in the Archetype:
So then the Matter resides in Water, the
Informing in Light, and the determina∣tion
of the Form, which is as I may say
the Form's formality, is in the will of the
Page 165

Creator, first impressed or sealed in the
word (fiat,) and ratified in his command
(producat unumquodque juxta speciem
suam.) Now to apply this to our present
purpose, in Water and Light all things
agree, in the determination of Illumina∣tion
they differ. This determinative sen∣tence
of the Almighty, sealed a great va∣riety
in the products of the Matter and
Form, which are in themselves general,
and being thus sealed, not any thing can
pass from its kind to mix with another
kind, but it will cause a product parta∣king
of either Parent, nor can mixture
be made but in the same genus or species;
as an Apple may be graffed on a Crab-tree,
a Man may (though abominably)
mix with a Beast, (licentia naturali) but
out of genus or species nothing can mix.
There are also many particular exceptions
of things in one genus, for many Trees
I know which the Art of man cannot in∣graff
one in another, so as to grow, will
yet grow well ingraffed elsewhere; so
a Dog and a Mouse cannot mix, being
one so disproportionable to another.
But this by the by.

Page 166

To return to our intention, we say,
that as all things are by the will and
power of God specificated, so with the
destruction of that species, the Form (as
to that individual) perishing, (for no
intire species can perish) things may both
by Nature and Art return to their first
stable principle material, which is Water,
of which Nature, if it found it in a con∣venient
place, might (impregnating it
with a Metalline Seed) produce a Me∣talline
Sperm, or viscosity, which then
might be a Metal by decoction, and yield
unto our work a profitable subject.

As in Blood, Eggs, Hair, Ʋrine, or Wine,
Or in mean Minerals digg'd out of the Mine;
Yet must that Element be first purified and separate,
And with Elements of perfect Bodies be desponsate.
SO then if thou canst (as by the Liquor
Alcahest thou mayst) reduce a Body
(be it what it will, whether Eggs, or Hair,
or Urine, or a Spirit ardent, or any mean
Mineral which is not of a Metalline impo∣sition)
Page 167

to Water, and after knowest how
to impregnate that Water with a speci∣ficated,
seminal, influential Light, so that
that Water may penetrate its dimensions
at the least 16 times, and become a Mine∣ral,
Mercurial Juice; thou mayst then ex∣pect
as much profit from that Mercury,
as from the best Mercury that is sold in
the Apothecaries shops, and no more;
for thou mayst so purifie it, and separate
its faeces and crudities, as that it may be∣come
fit to joyn with thy perfect Bodies:
but I doubt this way will be so hard,
(try it when thou wilt, I fear the first
will puzzle thee all thy life long, to turn
all Bodies into Water, and the next
would puzzle all the Devils in Hell, to
bring this Water to a Metallick seminal
viscosity) that thou hadst better leave
musing on these Impossibilities, and take
my counsel, that is, seek it there where
Nature hath put it.

Page 168
But first of thine Elements make thou Ro∣tation,
And into Water thine Earth turn first of all,
Then of thy Water make Air by levigation,
And Air make Fire; then Master I will thee call
Of all our Secrets great and small:
The wheel of Elements then hast thou turn'd about,
Truly conceiving our Writings without doubt.
TAke of thy clean Mercury, which is
animated according to what I have
faithfully taught in my little Latine* Trea∣tise,
and mix it with thy Body, as there
I told you, without ambiguity; put it
in a Glass, as I there advised, and govern
it with a Fire, as I in that Treatise or∣dered,
and thou shalt see thy Elements
circulate; first thou shalt have thy Gold
dissolved, which thou shalt know by thy
first sign, which is a whiteness which will
arise like a skin in boiling upon the Wa∣ter.
This Water will be made aërial, by
subliming in a continual Vapour; for by
constant and continual Sublimation, our
Page 169

Stone is inspired, and takes life in the Air,
and lives, and shews the actions of life,
and a living Water or Dew shall from the
top of the Glass descend upon the lower
grounds, and make them fructifie; then
shall the Central Fire, which was hidden
in the Earth, and is now in the Wa∣ter,
come forth and ascend with the
Water, and in the form of Air and Va∣pour,
shall beautifie thy Vessel with
changable colours, Citrine, pale, blewish
and blackish: This is the Fire of Radical
Sulphur, which when it is once stirred up,
is like unto the Fiery Dragon, and
Ignis Infernalis; by this thou mayst know
that the Heaven and the Earth, the Form
and the Matter, the Male and the Female
are now beginning Conjunction: when
thou seest this sign, rejoyce, for know
that now thy Bodies are made in greatest
part no Bodies; and this if thou dost
work well, will be in 30 or 36 days.

Page 170
This done, go backwards turning thy wheel again,
And into Water turn thy Fire anon,
Air into Earth, else labourest thou in vain.
NOw know, that all our three Circu∣lations
are so called not without
great reason, for so indeed they go on as
a Wheel; put a Nail in a Wheel, and
turn it, and you shall see the Nail will
with one half of your turning ascend, and
the other half descend: And then that
Circulation is compleat, and you then
must go on to another Circulation.

These our Circulations are Solution
and Congelation, Volatization and Fixa∣tion,
opening and shutting; when once
thou hast brought thy Body to the height
of Subtiliation, that the Spirit by de∣coction
can bring it to, then the Spirit
hath done its work, and ceaseth then to
be active; then begins the dissolved
Body to work after its kind, and then
the Spirit is passive, and the Body active;
thus passive Natures are made active, and
active passive, which is the Key of our
Page 171

Mastery. First then, advance the Spirit
above the Body, till the Fire be disco∣vered,
which is in a yellow colour; then
advance the Body over the Spirit, till the
Earth again appear, which is in a colour
blacker than Pitch; which first will begin
with blewness, and this will decline daily
more and more unto blackness. This
yellow colour remember that it comes
with a moisture of the Compound, other∣wise
what you do is all in vain: turn it
then into Water, that is, let this yellow∣ness
appear in humido, till by opposition
from the terrene qualities there be en∣gendred
a blewness, then continue this
decoction till all be intirely black, for in
gross moisture heat working, engenders
blackness, with such like gross colours.

For so to temperament is brought our Stone,
And Natures contractions four, are made one;
After they have three times been circulate,
Also thy Base perfectly consummate.
THy Air then must be thickned with
the Body, which is terrene and gross,
Page 172

being not yet putrified, and by this means
the Fire and the Air, and the Earth and
Water will accord; for Air will agree
with Water, and Earth with Fire: The
Air being then tempered with Earth,
doth by this reconcile the Water and the
Fire. Thus our first decoction confounds
the Elements, and thus our Stone which
was of severed qualities, is brought to a
temperateness. Thus by a natural Circu∣lation,
the Quadrangle is made a Circle,
and four qualities make a fifth, which is a
Neuter from the four, and yet partakes
of all. This first Conjunction natural,
which is made in the Glass without lay∣ing
on of hands, which we call Tripta∣tive,
is the ground of the last Tetraptive
Conjunction, which is made in the trun∣ing
round of the three Wheels, which
doth perfect the Stone.

Thus under the moisture of the Moon.
GOvern then thy Bath first with a moist
Fire, until the Body be made no
Body, but a flying Spirit; this is the time
of the Womans reign, and it is attributed
Page 173

to the Moon: for our Gold till it be dis∣solved,
all the work depends only upon
the active virtue of the Water, which
causeth the slow appearance of our signs.

And under the temperate heat of the Sun,
Thy Elements shall be incinerate soon,
And then hast thou the Mastery won.
Thank God thy Work was so begun:
For then hast thou one token true,
Which first in blackness to thee will shew.
WHen thou hast by thy first Waters
Pontick virtue and firiness, so far
dissolved thy Body as to set at liberty its
internal Sulphur, then thy Operations will
be speedy; for the Sulphur of the Water,
together with the natural Sulphur of thy
Gold, by mixture will make an unnatural
Fire, which will then burn like to the
Fire of Hell, first making a total end of
that dissolution which was but in part
made by the Water, and after that dry∣ing
up and congealing its own moisture,
and the moisture of the Water, uniting
the Sulphur of the Sun and the Sulphur of
the Water, and the Mercury of the Sun
Page 174

and the Mercury of the Water, and the
united Sulphur prevailing over the united
Humidity, rotting it into powder as small
as Atoms, black of the blackest black,
thou shalt then see a total mixture of
Seeds, and death of thy Compound.
This rotting will begin about the 42, 46
or 50th day; and the signs of it are, the
Fumes will not ascend, but the Matter
will boil at the bottom of the Glass▪ like
to melted Pitch, boiling and bubbling,
swelling and puffing in a black colour,
every day blacker and blacker, shewing
changable rotting colours in its boiling.
This will continue till it be so thick, that
it boil not, but grow hard and swell; yet
it will vary often, and appear sometimes as
though dry, and sometimes a little moi∣sture
will appear, with fresh bubbling, but
no Fumes. And this will last about 46
days, no Fumes rising at all, so that about
the 84th or 90th day, after thy Matters
begin to be boiled in a continual de∣coction,
Putrefaction will be compleat,
and then Sublimation or Circulation will
begin again, which in 46 or 50 days will
end in a white Dove.

Page 175

This first token of blackness proclaims
thee a Master, after which thou canst not
well miss, unless thou wilt. This is the
astonishment of Art, to make Gold vola∣tile,
which was so fixed: be patient then,
and boyl continually till your Gold be∣gin
to dissolve, and come upon the Wa∣ter
like a Cream. Then continue your
decoction till the colour begin to change
into an imperfect Citrine, with moisture,
and send up yellowish vapours. This Ci∣trine
will soon be mixed with a blewish
black, and yet continue the decoction
till the Clouds begin to rise, and a dark
mist: then continue your boyling, till
breath fail, that is, the Clouds and Fumes
arise no more; then the Compound boyl
at the bottom without Fumes, and will
shew dark, obscure, reddish, yellowish,
blewish, gray and blackish colours; then
continue your decoction till the Body
and whole Compound begin to rot into
Atoms, which the 50th day will give you
a Harbinger or fore-runner of, with Pit∣chy
blackness; then know that all is tho∣rowly
mingled together, and will never
cease till the damned Earth come, the
Page 176

Earth of Leaves, which is a dust im∣palpable.

The Head of the Crow that token call we,
And some do call it the Crows Bill,
Some call it the Ashes of Hermes Tree;
And thus they name it after their will,
Our Toad of the Earth which eateth his fill.
Some call it by what it is mortificate,
Our Spirit with Venom intoxicate.
But it hath names I say to thee infinite;
For after each thing that blackness is to sight
Named it is, till time it waxeth white;
Then hath it names of more delight,
After all things that been full white.
And the red likewise after the same,
After all read things doth take the name,
At the first Gate, &c.
THis token then is called the Crow, the
Crow's Head, and the Crow's Bill, for
it is a shining blackness, like unto Prin∣ters
Ink, or a solid Coal new broken, or
the most black and compacted broken
Pitch.

Others name it the Ashes of Hermes
Tree, for it is Ashes out of which grows
Page 177

a Tree afterwards, beautiful and glorious
with Sprigs and Branches, and changable
colours.

And indeed this liberty the Philoso∣phers
have taken, to call it what they
list: they call it their Toad which craw∣leth
on the ground, and feedeth upon the
slime of the Earth; because before it is
quite black, it may ••semble the colours
of a Toad, and its likeness, pusfing and
swelling, and rugged with bunches and
blisters, and knobs.

Others call it a Spirit killed with its
own deadly poison, that is, Mercury dis∣solving
Gold, in which dissolved Body
(which then seems a Spirit) there is a hid∣den
ferment, which may recongeal the
same: this fermental virtue it is that doth
coagulate or thicken the Water, that to
the wonder of the Beholders what before
was thinner and thinner, doth after 40
days thicken, till it come to a dust or
powder like to impalpable Atoms.

But I shall not insist upon these deno∣minations,
there being so many given to
it by the Envious, that there is nothing
almost in the World that is black, or may
Page 178

be made black by the Fire, but they have
named it by it. Also whatever is filthy
or faeculent, or unsavoury either to taste
or smell, they have Allusively called their
Stone by, in reference to its first putrid∣ness
or corruption. So likewise when
by continuance of decoction the colour
changeth to white, they then call it their
Swan, their Dove, their white Stone of
Paradise, their white Gold, their Alabla∣ster,
their white Smoak, and in a word
whatever is white they do call it by. And
so the Red they name their Vermilion,
their red Lead, their Poppy of the Rock,
their Tyre, their Basilisk, their red Lion,
and in sum it borrows the names of all
red things.

Now thou art entred the first five
Gates of the Philosophers Castle; for do
not believe but that Calcination is verily
Putrefaction, and is done by Dissolution,
Separation and Conjunction, as if thou
hast attended this discourse thou mayst
easily conceive: only here is the Sophism,
after this total Calcination, there is a re∣lenting
again; for as I said before, our
Operation is but turning as it were of a
Page 179

Wheel, which runs one half of its circu∣lation
directly backwards to its first pro∣gress.
Thou sublimest so long, till the
Body is made as volatile as it may be, this
is the activity of the Spirit; then thou
congealest so long, till all appear like
Atoms, and then is thy bodily virtue
active, and thy Spirit passive; then thy
Spirit begins to be active again, and thy
Compound which was apparently fixed,
relents again and distils as before, till it
come to its height again of volatility,
which is again a Separation; then is ce∣lebrated
again a Conjunction Tetraptive,
and from that time all ascends and de∣scends
together, and there is such an
union, that there doth not then (as at
first) exhale a quick Fume, and descend
upon the bodily Moles, but all ascends
like to a glorious Tree with branches,
and is not sublimed to the top, but sprouts
up like the tender Forst in a fair morn∣ing,
which falls and rises till all become a
Powder impalpable. So then after Calci∣nation
is again a Solution, and that di∣vides
between Azoth and Laton, and a
distilling Separation in which Azoth wash∣eth
Page 180
Laton; and after that a Conjunction,
not of the four Elemental qualities only,
which was in the first Conjunction, but of
the Elements themselves, the Body, Soul
and Spirit; and then is made another
Calcination into a white Calx, which by
continual decoction relents again, and is
made volatile again: for our Wheel goes
round, and when it is come thither
whence it set forth, it begins again.
Thus is made a third Solution, Sublima∣tion
and Calcination into a red Elixir,
which is the Sabboth of Nature and Art;
at which being arrived, there is no far∣ther
progress without a new Marriage,
either by Ferment or otherwise, accor∣ding
to the rule of Nature and Art: so
that indeed all our work is three Rota∣tions,
and every Rotation hath three
Members, Solution, Sublimation, and Cal∣cination.
The first Solution, is called In∣ceration,
and Reduction or Liquefaction,
the second properly Solution, the third
Inceration. The first Sublimation is called
Distillation, Ascension and Descension,
the second Separation and Ablution, the
third Exaltation and Sublimation. The
Page 181

First Calcination is called Calcination and
Conjunction Triptative, Putrefaction, &c.
The second Congelation, Albification and
Fixation, the Third Illumination, &c.
only remember, thou in thy first Calcina∣tion
attainest compleat Putrefaction, in
the second the compleat white Elixir,
and in the third the compleat Red. This
I premise to undeceive thee, that thou
mayst not think to have a Calcination
first, a Dissolution next, a Separation
thirdly, a Conjunction fourthly, a Putre∣faction
fifthly, &c. No verily, when
thou first puttest thy Matters into the
Vessel, in the first day of thy Operation,
thou givest a Fire in which thy Com∣pound
boileth, swelleth, and puffeth visi∣bly,
and drops run down in veins off
from the Convex of thy Glass; for in
this Mercury thy Gold will, beyond the
nature of any other Mercury, flow in the
Fire as if the whole was Mercury, and
boyl visibly, which must never cease, not
a moment, for it brings imminent damage.
In the first days of your boyling, which
is accompanied with a constant ascending
and return of Fumes, your Compound
Page 182

grows more and more liquid, now and
then a skin appearing in the form of a
distinguishable, though not very obser∣vable,
whiteness. At length a yellowish
colour will appear, less at first, and more
afterwards distinguishable, both in the
boyling Compound below, and in the
Fumes above; and when thou seest thy
Glass as if it were all over gilded, where
the Fumes ascend with a blewness, then
know that thy Man and Wife do mix
their Seeds, then shall an obscure green∣ness
pass and continue a season, then shall
thy Fumes diminish, and at length be
none at all, and the Compound shall
boyl and swell in the bottom of the
Glass.

After that, the more you boyl, your
Compound will be the more black, com∣ing
at last to the temper of melted Pitch
for colour and bubbling, which shall rot
with obscure colours untill it come to
the period of Putrefaction, which is a
most exquisitely subtle, black, unctuous
Powder, which about the 84th or
90th day in a good decoction will be
compleat.

Page 183

Take heed now, for I shall not make
such another particular Systeme of the
Work in all my Writings. When the ful∣ness
of compleat Calcination is perfect,
then will the parts begin to liquefie to∣gether
again, and you then shall see Va∣pours
begin to arise again, first like to
a Smoak, which will after return in drops
condensing on the Vessel sides, which
believe me is a gallant sight; for in this
Operation as blackness by little wears
away, such colours will appear which
thou canst not imagine, that thou wilt
steal from Natures due to satisfie thine
eyes in the beholding of it, when thou
shouldest sleep.

This Circulation with infinite variety
of colours will last between 20 and 30
days, and then thou shalt see thy Matter
appear pretty white, which then will
grow whiter and whiter, till it become
like a glittering Sword in the Sun-beams:
trust me, for I have seen this shining
sparkling white, which yet will be quick
like a most glorious Heaven-born Mer∣cury,
the subject of wonders.

Then shall these Fumes begin to cease,
Page 184

and thou shalt see a Congelation, like to
the sparkling twinkling eyes of Fishes,
which moving uncessantly on the Fire,
will glitter incomparably and wonder∣fully,
and thickning more and more, it
will sprout like the tender Frost in a most
amiable lustre, and in 25 days shalt thou
have it a most impalpable undiscernable
Powder. Now thou needest no farther
instruction, only this let me tell you, that
the continuing your Glass in the Fire,
and increasing it discreetly, this white
will relent again, and change into a per∣fect
green, and will again circulate and
become perfect Azure, and at the length
thicken, and in the end become (after a
long Citrinity) in a moment a sparkling
red pure impalpable Powder. Under∣stand
this well, and you will not be ama∣zed
any longer with the distinction of
our Operations, which is but Solution
(which contains Separation or Sublima∣tion,
and Volatization) and Coagulation,
which contains Conjunction, Calcination
and Fixation; and all is but a successive
action and passion of Gold the Body
and his qualities, and Mercury the Soul
Page 185

and its qualities, between which inter∣cedes
a Spirit of Life, which carries them
up and down like a Wheel, which turns
till it returns thither whence it procee∣ded,
and then begins again and turns so
long till it finds its rest, which is in the
Fiery Cathedra, the red of the reddest,
the great Elixir commanding all Metals,
and reducing them to the highest period
of Nature, which is Gold it self, having
attained a plusquam perfection, through
the marvellous co-operation of Art and
Nature.

Thus Gold is thy Base or Foundation,
the Centre to which all thy Operations
return, and in which they rest; for they
are but Circulations in their own kind,
and these Circulations are uncessantly
carried along through the never-ceasing
action of the Fire, which a little in∣termission
would retard notably, an ex∣tinction
of the heat would extinguish ir∣recoverably.
If any then should ask us,
what our natural Operation of the Stone
is; we would answer, a making of active
Natures passive, and passive active, by
continual decoction. We boyl continu∣ally,
Page 186

and when the Spirit is active there
is a constant ascension and descension,
and the Body is dissolved and made to
fly like a Spirit; and when the Body is
active, the Fumes by little and little cease,
and the Compound remains below, boil∣ing
without fuming, thickning and then
at length calcining: and this is without
hands repeated three times, the Fire only
being kept continually, and then a Sab∣both
of rest and perfection is attained:
in the mean time divers colours come and
go, which the dying Body and vegetative
Soul do work and cause. Trust me, Friend
and Brother, thou never hadst such a
manuduct as this in thy life, the Reasons
of my plainness my little Latine Treatise
doth clearly shew.

The Battle's fought, the Conquest won,
The Lyon dead reviv'd;
The Eagle's dead which did him slay,
And both of sense depriv'd.
The Showrs cease, the Dews which fell
For six weeks, do not rise;
The ugly Toad that did so swell,
With swelling bursts and dies.
Page 187
The Argent Field with Or is stain'd,
With Violet intermix'd,
The sable Black is not disdain'd,
Which shews the Spirits fix'd.
The Compound into Atoms turn'd,
The Seeds together blended;
The flying Soul to th' Earth return'd,
The soaring Bird descended.
The King and Queen contumulate,
And joyn'd as one together;
That which before was two, by Fate
Is ty'd, which none can sever.
The King begets the Queen with Child,
Conjunction doth allay
Their fury who before were wild,
Conception both doth slay.
The King is Brother to his Wife,
And she to him is Mother;
One Father is to both, whose life
Depends upon each other.
The one when dead, the other dyes,
And both are laid in Grave;
The Coffin's one in which both lyes,
Each doth the other save.
Yet each the other doth destroy,
And yet both are amended;
Page 188
One without t' other hath no joy,
Both are of one descended.
Twice fourty days do come and go,
To which twice five are added,
These do produce a perfect Crow,
Whose blackness chears hearts sadded.
Twice fifteen more produce a Dove,
Whose wings are bright and tender;
Twice ten more make the Soul above
To need no Fire defender.
For Soul and Body so combine,
The Spirit interceding,
Tincture to give of Silver fine,
The Soul the Body in leading.
Also such fixity to add,
Against the Flames prevailing,
Which may the Chymist make full glad,
The Sophister still failing.
Who seeks in fancies for to find
Our Art so much concealed,
Not duly weighing in his mind
That 'tis a Fountain sealed,
Which one thing only can unlock;
This one thing learn to know,
Lest you the same event should mock,
That thing these Lines do shew.

AN EXPOSITION UPON THE Second Gate, Which is DISSOLUTION.

Page 191
The Second Gate Opened, Which is DISSOLUTION.
Of Dissolution now will I speak a word or two,
Which sheweth out what erst was hid from fight,
And maketh intenuate things that were thick also,
By virtue of our first Menstrue clear and bright,
In which our Bodies eclipsed been of light,
And of their hard and dry compaction sub∣tilate,
Into their own first Matter kindly retro∣gradate.
HAving run through the Chapter
of Calcination, I now come to
handle Dissolution, which as I
said before, is the first beginning of the
Spirits activity, and it is the first half of
Page 192

the Wheel which turns up the Spirit, and
down the Body; the second hath a con∣trary
operation, for it makes the Body
active, and Spirit passive: so then Calci∣nation
hides the profundity of the Body,
which Solution discovereth. It is then
nothing else but a boiling of hard and
dry Bodies in our Mercury, in a conve∣nient
Fire, so long till they be dissolved
and made thin; then the same Fire makes
them fly, and flying they condense and
return in drops on the Body, and moisten
it: This is Solution and Sublimation to∣gether,
for the Water circulating upon
the Body, doth soften it, and by often
returning doth at length bring it to its
own nature of moisture. In this Resolu∣tion,
according to Artephius, the Sun
loseth its colour and is darkned, and the
Moon doth not give her light, for all
things are turned into their confused
Chaos, or first Matter, in which the Ele∣ments
with their qualities are hurried
together.

Page 193
One in Gender they be, and in Number two,
Whose Father is the Sun, and the Moon the Mother;
The mover is Mercury: These and no more be
Our Magnesia, our Adrop, and none other
Things here be, but only Sister and Brother:
That is to mean, Agent and Patient,
Sulphur and Mercury co-essential to our intent.
THe cause of this is the Homogeneity
of the Matter, wherein they agree
in essence, together with the difference
which is between them in Sex, they be∣ing
in the Glass as Male and Female; and
in ripeness of years one being more ma∣ture,
and by consequent more active,
(to wit, the Sun, who therefore is the Fa∣ther)
the other more crude (in com∣parison
of the Sun) and so more passive,
viz. the Moon, which therefore is the
Mother of our Stone. This Mother is
our Mercury (which for its eminent dif∣ference
from any other Mercury, is called
the Moon) with its internal true Sulphur,
which is hidden under its Mercurial form,
Page 194

doth first move; for at first our Body,
which is Gold, is dead, and liveth not
till it be quickned by our Mercury, then
it lives: it behoveth thee then to put in
thy Body and thy Water, and let them
stand together, and add nothing to them.
This Composition duly made we call our
Magnesia, and our Adrop, and nothing
entreth, neither Powder nor Liquor, save
only these two species, which species are
the perfect Body and Argent vive.

These two sprung out of one Root,
for as I told you, the Soul of thy anima∣ted
Mercury is perfect true Gold, yet vo∣latile,
which by Art may be made to ap∣pear
in a fixed form: so then we joyn
Consanguinity with Consanguinity, Bro∣ther
with Sister, and make them become
together Man and Wife. These two by
continual Fire do act and re-act, the Wo∣man
first, and then the Man, several,
which then are joyned and make one
Hermaphrodite, acting one half of each
Circulation as a Woman or Spirit, and the
other half as a Man or Body.

For each of the two principles have a
Sulphur and a Mercuriality; the Gold or
Page 195

Body hath its Sulphur external and appa∣rent,
the Mercury the Spirit hath it inter∣nally
hidden, yet both these are co-essen∣tial
each to other, and in that respect
they are the only subjects in the World
for our Art.

Between these two in quality contrarious,
Ingendred is a mean most marvellous,
Which is our Mercury and Menstrue un∣ctuous;
Our secret Sulphur working invisibly,
More fierce then Fire burning the Body,
Dissolving Metals into Water Mineral,
Which Night for darkness in the North we do call.
FOr with their Homogeneity, they
have withall such a Contrariety in
opposite qualities, that they do no sooner
feel the Fire, but they are stirred up to
Work, and boiling and circulating in a
continual Ebullition or Vapour, they do
mingle their homogeneal qualities toge∣ther:
by reason of which there is a
strange medium, of an unnatural Fire and
a putrefying Bath ingendred, then the
Page 196
Sulphur or Fire of the Gold, which is the
Fire of Nature, and the Sulphur of the
Water, do embrace one another, and these
two make an unnatural Fire, in which
the Humidity appears, and the Sulphur
being hidden to the eye, appears in its
effects only to sight, and that is, it burns,
destroys and conquers the Bodies, which
common Fire never could do, making
them to be no Bodies, but a Fume of
Mineral Vapour; and in this Operation
the Elements are confused, and make our
Chaos which is void and dark, for here
the Lights of the World are eclipsed, the
Sun is darkned, and the Moon sheweth
not its light: which watrishness of the
Compositions, for its abundance of moi∣sture,
and privation of light, we call
Winter, and Night, and the North Lati∣tude
of our Stone.

Page 197
But yet I trow thou understandst not utterly,
The very secret of Philosophers Dissolution,
Therefore understand me, I counsel thee wit∣tily,
For the truth I will tell thee without delusion,
Our Solution is caused of our Congelation;
For Dissolution on the one side corporal,
Causeth Congelation on the other side spiri∣tual.
WHen once thou hast the true mastery
of our Dissolution, thou needest
take no care for Congelation, for go∣verning
it on with thy Fire, thou shalt
attain Coagulation without any laying
on of hands. Therefore saith Ricardus,
above all things it is wonderful, that in
our work, Calcination, Dissolution, Subli∣mation,
Putrefaction, Separation, Con∣junction,
Death and Purification, should
be performed in one Vessel, and one
linear decoction, without laying on of
hands: for verily the Dissolution of the
Body thickens the Spirit, as it is in Water
in which Gum or such a thing is dissol∣ved;
for by how much the one is dissol∣ved,
Page 198

the other is congealed: this proves
the naturality of our Work, for as a grain
of Corn is in the bowels of the Earth
softned with the moist Vapour, and swel∣leth
thereby, this Vapour is also termina∣ted
by the fermental odour of the Grain,
and so both grow up together into Stalks
and Ears.

And we dissolve into Water which wetteth no hand;
For when the Earth is integratly incinerate,
Then is the Water congeal'd: This under∣stand,
For our Elements are so together concatenate,
That when thy Body from its first form is alterate,
A new form is indued immediately,
Since nothing being without all form is ut∣terly.
SO we in our Work dissolve our Body,
which is Gold, in its own Water, in
which it is softned as a Seed in its proper
ground, and being softned it relents into
Water, not diaphanous, such as is the
Waters of the Clouds, or of Fountains,
Page 199

but Mineral, even Mercury which wet∣teth
no hand, nor cleaves to any thing
but that which is of its own substance
and essence.

So that then in our Work, our two
Principals work not according to their
single dispositions, but as conjunct; the
one, saith the Philosopher, dyeth not
without its Brother: therefore when
thou calcinest the Earth, thou dost in it
and with it calcine the Water, and in this
the Souls of both are tyed together, to
the end that they may serve the wise Phi∣losophers.
Therefore let all thy study be
to unite Natures, which thou canst never
do, unless thou separate first their Souls
by Sublimation, and afterwards unite
them in blackness, which a continual Cir∣culation
of thy Water upon the Earth
will produce.

Now know, that when thou seest thy
Water and thy Body boil together, so as
to thicken one another, and to congeal
one another, that then thy science is true,
and then thy Body which thus thickens,
is not the same which thou puttest in, but
a middle coagulate, a terra Adamica, a
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Page 200
Limus and Chaos, for one form being
taken away, a second necessarily follows
immediately; for as no Body can at any
time have more than one form, so can it
never be void of all form.

And here a secret I will to thee disclose,
Which is the ground of our secrets all,
And it not known thou shalt but lose
Thy labour and costs both great and small:
Take heed therefore in error that thou not fall.
The more thine Earth, and the less thy moi∣sture be,
The rather and better Solution shalt thou see.
ANd here take notice by the way, that
that is no total Dissolution which is
before Calcination, but only partial, the
Water resolves as much as it can of the
Body, so much that it doth sever between
its Spirit and Body; but by reason of its
perfection and strong compaction, it finds
a great deal of difficulty before a total
Resolution, and therefore it putrefies
what is most gross, and thus brings it to
Atoms, which when it is once subtilized
Page 201

beyond the exigency of its own nature,
it then is dissolved, and relents, and then
Dissolution is made totally, viz. after
Putrefaction. Then at length it becomes
all like a glorious Argent vive, and this
immediately before the Lunary Coagula∣tion:
Know then that our first loosing is
into a viscous Powder, which is brought
on by Incrudation, or rather Liquefacti∣on;
for know that till after Putrefaction,
our Stone and Compound is moist in the
Fire, but hardens more and more by how
much the colder it is, and softens more
and more by how much hotter it is, and
the heat slacking, the boiling will change
into a seeming Vegetation, and the Fire
going out, it is hard rather than soft, yet
the mingling of the Natures is known by
the colours, and drawing to Calcination.
Therefore thy first Operation is to dry
up thy superfluous watrish moisture, not
evaporating it, but congealing it on the
Body. Think not then, as some of the
envious Sophistically write, that the more
you put of your Water, the sooner you
dissolve, and congeal the slower: No ve∣rily,
your Calcination is but the medium
Page 202

of true Solution, which is (trust me) not
total nor proper till after Putrefaction.
I should never have told thee this Myste∣ry,
had not the love of my Neighbour
compelled me. That opening of the Body
which is before, is but an opening of its
pores, which lets our Water in, and then
after death and resurrection the Mercury
of Sol is visible to the eye, which before
was but distinguishable by its effect.

Behold how Ice to Water doth relent,
And so it must, for Water it was before;
Right so again our Water to Earth is went,
And Water thereby congeal'd for evermore:
For after all Philosophers that ere were bore,
Each Metal once was Water Mineral,
Therefore with Water they turn to Water all.
SO then our Body hath moisture in it
self, but this moisture is sealed, as Wa∣ter
when frozen by the Cold. But when
the pores of the Body are by our Water
opened, and its central Fire set at liberty,
this internal Fire of Nature makes the
Body to become no Body, but a very
Spirit.

Page 203

In this same Operation the Spirit is
congealed, for the Body hath in it more
virtue then its two Sociats, that is, than
the Soul and Spirit. This is the action and
re-action of our Body and its Water, for
our Body is in its occulto Mercury, and
our Mercury is in its occulto Sol; there∣fore
they embrace each other, because of
the nearness of their Natures, and so the
Body hath its profundity discovered, and
the Water its altitude, and both together
are glorified in one Spiritual Body toge∣ther,
according to Noble Hermes, Vis ejus
est integra si versa fuerit in terram. But
thou canst never have this excellent
fixity, till the fixed have attained its
volatility.

In which Water of kind occasionate,
Of qualities been repugnance and diversity,
Things into things must therefore be Rotate,
Ʋntil that Trinity be brought to perfect Ʋnity.
THis Water into which our Bodies are
first liquefied, is not properly Wa∣ter,
but (modo quodam) as we may say in
Page 204

the Fire. During the predomination of
the Woman, all appears in a moist po∣sture,
and so will do most part of the first
50 days; yet this is a gross moisture, and
by consequence the more fit for Putre∣faction:
in which gross Humidity all the
Elements are in a confusion, not the Ele∣ments
of the great World, but our Mine∣ral
Elements; thou must therefore work
by a continual boiling, in which thy
Compound will appear like unto the
stormy Sea in a Tempest, raging and
swelling, waves and bubbles rising one
in the neck of another incessantly. The
Vapour of this Bath being imprisoned,
condenseth and returns every moment,
until there be an union made of all the
Elements, in a terra Adamica, or Limus.
Then will the Body, Soul and Spirit re∣main
below in the bottom of the Vessel,
which is as a Tomb, in which they dye
and rot, and are putrified.

Page 205
For the Scripture recordeth when the Earth shall be
Troubled, and into the deep Sea shall be cast
Mountains and Bodies likewise at the last.
THen will our Earth be moved, and
the powers of our Heaven will be
shaken, and the windows thereof opened,
and an universal Deluge will come upon
the face of the whole Earth, which will
destroy all things, and cover the highest
Mountains, so that all Flesh shall dye:
these Waters will be a long time upon the
face of the ground.

Our Bodies be likned conveniently
To Mountains, which after high Planets we name;
Into the deeps therefore of Mercury
Turn them, and keep thee out of blame,
For then shalt thou see a noble game,
How all will become Powder as soft as Silk;
So doth our Runnit kindly curd up our Milk.
THus have many of the envious alle∣gorized
of the Scripture, and veiled
Page 206

their Work under several passages and
overtures which are mentioned therein,
to which they have some resemblance:
they have called their Metals Sol and
Luna, Mountains, either for the situation
sake, they being generally found in
Mountains; or by opposition sake, for as
Mountains are highest above ground, so
they lye deepest under ground; or for
that as the Mountains are nearer the Sun,
so those do approximate nearer to coele∣stial
Influences than any other Bodies
whatsoever: so also they have stiled them
by the names of Planets, by reason of
some similitude.

But it makes not so much for the name,
the thing is, take the Body which is
Gold, and throw it into Mercury, such
a Mercury which is bottomless, that is,
whose centre it can never find but by
discovering its own; govern them wise∣ly
with Fire, as thy Matter requireth,
then shall thy Gold visibly liquefie in the
Fire, that is, appear thin as if it were
Mercury, and it will swell, bubble and
boil, so long till the moisture be termina∣ted
by the Body into an impalpable Pow∣der,
Page 207

as naturally as Runnit doth curdle
Milk into Cheese. This total reduction
into Atoms, is the perfection of Putre∣faction,
in blackness most black, and it
begins before the 50th day, and endeth
before or about the 90th day, in variable
colours.

Then have thy Bodies their first form lost,
And others been indued immediately,
Then hast thou well bestowed thy cost,
When others uncunning must go by,
Not knowing the secrets of our Philosophy.
THen thou hast a Body, not such a
one as thou puttest in, but Herma∣phroditical,
which yet hath but one form.
Nor is it the same form it had, though
an accidental imperfect one in the same
kind; which imperfect form is not to be
despised, for these Ashes are the Tomb of
our King. Honour then the Sepulchre of
him and of his Queen, if ever thou expect
to see them returning from the East in
power and great glory. Never grutch
it then that thou hast destroyed thy
Gold, for he that thus destroys it, loseth
Page 208

it not, but soweth good Seed in good
Earth, from whence he shall receive it
with an hundred-fold increase: when as
he that saveth his Gold in this Work, lo∣seth
his labour, and is deceived for lack
of true understanding, when as he under∣takes
this Work without the true know∣ledge
of its causes.

Yet one point more I must tell thee,
How that each Body hath dimensions three,
Altitude, Latitude, and also Profundity;
By which all Gates turn we must our Wheel.
HAving then this Mystery, which is
the Stumbling-block at which thou∣sands
stumble, who cannot for all their
talk destroy their Bodies, which is not to
be done but by the Alkahest, which is an
unprofitable way for our Work, and by
our Mercury, viz. in 40 days, or there∣abouts:
Then know which must be your
next progress, for Calcination is but a
term put on our Work by Authors, and
it reacheth to the end of Putrefaction,
our first Calcination. I told you before,
that all our Work was compleat in three
Page 209

Circulations, and every Circulation had
three periods; so now I tell you, that
these three periods are Altitude, Latitude
and Profundity: Altitude and Profun∣dity
being united, make Latitude, and so
our Wheel is turned round: the Profun∣dity
is the Water below, the Altitude is
Vapour or Waters above, and the union
of these two is in a Calx, which is Lati∣tude;
which is done by Liquefaction,
Sublimation and Calcination: Liquefacti∣on
dissolves and confounds, Sublimation
volatizeth, separates and washeth, and
Calcination unites and fixeth.

Knowing that thine entrance in the West shall be,
Thy passage forth to the North if thou do well,
And there thy Lights will lose their lights each deal,
For there must thou abide for 90 nights,
In darkness of Purgatory without lights.
THou must begin in the West, and in
the Autumn, which is Barren, for
then Crops are gathered; take then thou
Gold, which is the Harvest of Natures
Page 210

works, and it is barren of it self: to make
it fruitful thou must bring on the Winter
showrs, which is the North Latitude, and
by these the Earth will be made mellow,
and the Seeds will rot; which Seeds are
Sol terrestrial, in whose belly is a hidden
Luna. These Lights will in this Opera∣tion
be darkned, and by little and little
a horrible Night will over-shadow the
Earth and Heaven, a blackness like unto
Pitch: this blackness and Eclipsation will
continue until the end of thy first three
months, perhaps 100 days, perhaps 120,
yea sometimes 130 days, as it may fall
out; think not this time long, for it must
be that thy Matters must be purified, be∣fore
they can or shall be glorified.

Then take thy course up to the East anon,
By colours rising variable in manifold wise,
To the East therefore thine ascending devise,
For there the Sun with day-light doth uprise
In Summer, and there disport thee with de∣light.
THen shalt thou see thy Exhalations to
return again, and by the continu∣ance
Page 211

of them on thy Body, light shall be∣gin
to appear, which is our Spring and
East season, in which as the rising Sun
scatters the darkness with multitude of
previous colours, especially in a misty
morning; so is it with our Work, such
admirable colours will appear, as never
were seen by the eye of man in so little
a room before. Then rejoyce, for now
our King hath triumphed over the mise∣ries
of death, and behold him returning
in the East with the Clouds in power and
great glory. Now the Night is over∣gone,
and the Morning breaks; the Win∣ter
is past, and the Spring comes on plea∣santly,
with sweet showrs of April,
hastning the most beautiful Flowers of
May. Now as the Winter is a sad time,
being cold and wet, frosty and slabbery,
the Countries of Pleasure being dirty to
the Horses belly, but the Spring returns
the year, and pleasure with its sweet sea∣son:
so in our Work, thy first Opera∣tions
before blackness seem tedious, but
after blackness far more tedious, for thou
wilt think there will never be an end of
it; so variety of colours brings delight in
Page 212

its daily and hourly variety, even to per∣fect
whiteness.

Forth from the East into the South ascend,
And set thee down there in a Chair of Fire,
For there is Harvest, that is to say, an end
Of all this Work after thine own desire,
There shineth the Sun up in his Hemisphere.
After the Eclipses in redness with glory,
As King to reign over all Metals and Mer∣cury.
HEre thou mayst light and bait, and
enjoy the glory of thy white Elixir,
but do not, for thou hadst better wait
the end. Proceed then with a Fire a lit∣tle
more increased unto the Summer or
South quarter, where after some colours,
as green, yellow, azure, and the like,
thou shalt have a sparkling red, like unto
the flaming Fire. Then thou art come
indeed to thy Harvest, and to the end of
all thy Operations; for now thou begin∣nest
by apparent colours the uprising of
the Sun, after it hath been so long be∣clouded
and eclipsed; now hast thou
mourned long enough, now the time is
Page 213

come that thou shalt need no more to
mourn, for the Bridegroom is now come
forth out of his Chamber, and the Sun
comes forth as a valiant Champion to win
a prize: now is the time come in which
that of the Poet is fulfilled;

Don't let your face be painted with soot,
This will bring Phoebus a black wick.
Now hath our King of Peace attained his
Kingdom, whose Government is, parcere
subjectis & debellare superbos; for what∣ever
is infected our King will cure, what
is lame he will heal, and what is rebelli∣ous
he will suppress and subdue. Sic Re∣gis
ad exemplum totus componitur orbis.

And in one Glass must be done all this thing,
Like to an Egg in shape, and closed well.
NOw all these our Operations, as the
Philosopher saith, are done in our
secret Fire, hidden Furnace, and in one
Vessel; for if thou thinkest to make any
of these Operations with thy hand, thou
art in a certain way of errour. Our Vessel
Page 214

then, which for similitudes sake we call
an Egg, must be so closed when our Ma∣terials
are set in it, that the Spirits can∣not
possibly get out, nor the Air get in,
else our Work were spoiled.

Then must thou know the measure of Firing,
The which unknown thy Work is lost each deal.
Let never thy Glass be hotter then thou mayst feel,
And suffer still in thy bare hand to hold,
For fear of losing, as Philosophers have told.
THis done, we then set our Vessel and
Matter to the Fire, and let it stand
untouched till the Work be done: so
that the Philosopher hath nothing then
to do but behold his Glass, and the
Operation in it, and to govern his Fire
artificially.

So then when once the Stone is set to
work, the whole Mastery is to govern the
external Fire, which as the Philosopher
doth either perfect or destroy all: if thy
Fire be too slow for want of motion, thou
wilt hardly ever see an end; and if too
Page 215

big, thou mayst happen to seek thy for∣tune
in the Ashes.

Be not therefore immoderate in go∣verning;
and for better security, let not
your Glass neck be under a span in
length, but as much longer as you shall
see good; the longer for a Tyro, the bet∣ter
he shall work, and with the more se∣curity.
But the usual length which we
use, is about 12 or 14 inches high; this
height being so allowed, order so your
Furnace as to let out about 3 or 4 inches
of the top of your Glass, which may
come forth through the cover of your
Athanor, and if you can without hurt
feel or suffer any part of that neck, fear
not your Fire, but stew him without fear,
your Glass being strong, and the quicker
Fire the better.

Yet know, that your Furnace must be
answerable, for do not believe that Phi∣losophers
did formerly use our Art of
Furnaces, but made them of Brick, or
Earth, with Earthen Covers, which had
holes for letting out part of the necks of
their Glasses, over which if they put a
Cover, which they could remove and set
Page 216

on again at their pleasure; this Earthen
Cover was not so reflective of heat, as
our Iron Covers are, but that end of the
Glass which came out at the hole of the
Cover, they could feel without any da∣mage,
and by their being able to suffer
that in their hand, they judged the tem∣perament
of their heat. Therefore in thy
Furnace let thy Cover or Top be luted
with good Loam every-where, at the
least half an inch thick, so shalt thou be
sure not to have too scalding a heat in
the concavity of thy Nest, which other∣wise
thou wouldst have, so mayst thou
govern thy Fire at thy pleasure; the
necks of thy Glasses which come forth,
thou needest not cover▪ so shalt thou see
this of Ripley verified, thy Work will go
on very successfully, and thou wilt ever
be able to endure thy Glass in thy hand;
and this is the true meaning of all Philo∣sophers,
to give a certain rule by which
thou shalt never exceed, and that is so
long as you can endure to feel any part
of thy Glass, provided thy Nest be co∣vered,
and the ends of thy Glass necks
come forth.

Page 217
Yet to my Doctrine furthermore attend,
Beware thy Glass thou never open ne meeve,
From the beginning till thou have made an end;
If thou do otherwise thy Work may never cheeve.
Thus in this Chapter which is but brief, &c.
ANd that this is according to the •ence
of all Wise men, is evident by their
testimony in general, and the following
words of Ripley; See (saith he) that thou
open not thy Glass, nor move it, from the
beginning to the end of the Work. So then
this feeling of the Glass, it must be such
as may be without opening or moving
of the same; for if the Seed be disturb'd
in its beginning to vegetate, the Work is
undoubtedly spoiled, or at least it will
be so notably weakned, that it will hard∣ly
afford thee thy true Signs in thy due
time.

Therefore when thou settest in thy
Egg in thy Nest, take heed of meddling
with it until the Mastery be attain'd, but
with a Wyre or some such thing, or with
Page 218

a hole in thy Cover, stay the neck of
thy Glass from jogging this way or that,
which otherwise it will be very sub∣ject
to.

Thus have I briefly run through this
second Gate of Dissolution, which is in∣deed
one with Calcination and Separa∣tion;
for by a constant Sublimation, is
made a Solution of the Body, and at
length a Congelation of Spirits, for they
by oft ascending, come to that pass that
they will ascend no more, but remain
at the bottom of the Vessel together,
which is Conjunction: in which Con∣junction
they swell, bubble and boil,
till they calcine and putrefie. The black
Earth, impalpable like Atoms of the Sun,
being the highest degree of Putrefacti∣on:
and this is a secret not so clearly dis∣covered
by any before.

THe Sun is set, no wonder darkest Night
Doth veil the Crystal Skie:
The Moon's eclips'd, no marvel that her light
Doth from us hidden lie.
The Sun's declined to the Northern Pole,
And O the change that's made!
Page 219
The pearly drops are turned to a Coal,
All brightness quite doth fade.
Is this Apollo bright, whose glory did
A lustre great display?
Is this fair Phoebe, who ere light was hid,
Did shine as bright as day?
Is this the King whose glory and renown
Through all the World did ring?
Is this the Queen who far and near was known?
Oh 'tis a wondrous thing,
Such glory and such beauty thus should fade!
That what before did shine
More bright then Tagus, should so soon be made
More foul then ere 'twas fine!
The Earth doth melt, the Heavens drop down rain,
The Rocks which do relent,
They seem like Water, then condense again
Till all their moisture's spent.
To Ashes they return, for Dust they were,
This Dust from Water springs;
Therefore at length they melt to Water clear,
Which all to Spirits brings.
The Nest is Earth, therefore they will congeal
To sparkling pearly dew,
Shining like tender Pearl, on which doth steal
A Body dry and new.
Page 220
And then the parts like Atoms of the Sun
For fineness do appear:
Rejoyce, for now thou half thy course hast run,
Nor hast thou cause to fear.
Proceed until thou see the sparkling red,
Oh happy sight to see!
By which unto the Royal Palace led,
Thou shalt aye happy be.
Happy are they who shall not miss to find
The new uprising Sun:
More happy they who with renewed mind,
In God find rest alone.

AN EXPOSITION UPON THE Third Gate, Which is SEPARATION.

Page 223
The Third Gate Opened, Which is SEPARATION.
Separation doth each part from other divide,
The subtle from the gross, the thick from the thin;
But manual Separation see thou set aside,
For that pertains to Fools, which little fruit doth win.
But in our Separation Nature doth not blin,
Making division of qualities Elemental,
Into a fifth degree till they be turned all.
HAving now run through two of the
twelve Gates, I am come to the
third, which is Separation, which begins
so soon as the Matters have been so long
circulated, as to begin to hold one of
another. This Operation the Ancient Sa∣ges
have denominated Division of Ele∣ments,
which afterwards they say must
be joyned with a perpetual union. This
Page 224

Separation is by others called Extracti∣on
of Natures, and the parts separated
are compared to two Dragons, the
one winged, and the other without
wings.

Artephius, who for Age and Candor
was next to Hermes the most eminent,
calls this Separation the Key of the
Work, which according to him is a Sub∣limation
in a continual Vapour, that
what is Heavenly and subtile, may ascend
aloft, that is, to the upper part of the
Vessel, and there take the nature of a
Body Heavenly, or Spirit; and what is
gross may remain below, in the nature
of a Body Earthly, which is the end of
our Mastery, to bring the Bodies which
are compact and dry, to become a Spi∣ritual
fume, which is only to be done
by Sublimation, and Division or Sepa∣ration.

So then our Separation is not to be
understood, as many foolish Alchymists
do interpret it, who have their Elements
of which they boast much, which are in∣deed
manual, done by handy-work, the
Glass being removed, altered or renewed
Page 225

every time. Nor are our Separations
made by filter, or per tritorium, as many
imagine, who know not the nature of
our Work, and therefore run into such
foolish fancies.

Nature then in our Work doth all in
all, who as a curious Artificer maketh no
confused mixtures, but first of all causeth
the moisture to ascend, which because it
cannot get out, it doth therefore con∣dense
in drops, and descends so long till
at length it begin to be acuated from
the Body, which is below; for naturally
all homogeneal moisture, cohobated on
a bodily substance, with which it hath
affinity, is acuated by it. Gold then is a
Body in which the active qualities of
heat and driness, are more than in the
Mercury, and the Mercury being cohoba∣ted
on it, begins to be a little more Fiery
or hot, and then the Exhalations are
more Aërial, which before were more
Watry, and by continued Cohobation
the Water partakes yet more and more
of the Solary nature, until at length this
heat or Sulphur impregnating the Mer∣cury,
cause it to congeal into a new Body
Page 226

or quintessence, which is after the cor∣ruption
of the old Body, which is called
the Earth, or Ashes of Hermes's Tree.

Earth is turned into Water under black and bloe,
And Water after into Air under very white,
Then Air into Fire, Elements there be no moe,
Of these is made our Stone of great delight.
But of this Separation much more I must write;
And Separation is called by Philosophers definition,
Of several qualities a Tetraptive dis∣persion.
SO then this is the method of our Ope∣ration,
Earth, that is Sol, is boiled in
our Mercury, in such a heat in which
the Mercury may ascend constantly in a
smoak, and descend in drops, and the
Body below stand liquid and boil: then
shall the Water dry up, under which is
blackness hidden, which when the Wa∣ter
is dryed up shall appear like the
Crows Bill.

Page 227

Then shall this Powder again relent,
and after 40 days rotting without fumes,
shall send up a smoak again, which shall
ascend and descend so long, till the
whole be made volatile and Aërial; then
shall the black colour vanish, and the
white appear.

This white Argent vive, or Mercury
animated, which appears after blackness,
shall then totally congeal, and shall be
then Fire, whose Nurse is the Earth;
then hast thou the four Elements, that is,
cohobated thy Natures to the highest
degree of perfection of the white Stone,
then canst thou go no further, but go
back and turn the same Wheel till thou
hast attained the red Stone. Thus hast
thou the true Principles and Operation
of our great Elixirs both red and
white, which if thou once hast, thou hast
Riches enough, and needest no more in
this life.

This, if no more were said of this
point, might be enough to shew thee the
truth of our true Separation: yet because
Philosophers have spoken much of it, and
indeed it is all the work to cause ascen∣sion
Page 228

and descension of our true Water on
our true Body, so long till by the Water
the Body be volatized, and after that by
the Body the Water fixed; and till that
be brought to pass, there will come and
go the four Qualities in their season, and
will cause change of colours suitable to
their station, pleasant to the Philosopher
to behold.

Of this Separation I find a like figure thus spoken:
So out of our Stone precious if thou be witty,
Oyl incombustible and Water thou shalt draw,
And thereabout thou needest not at the Coles to blow.
THese Philosophical Operations some
have had the fancy to compare with
some passages of Scripture, but I had ra∣ther
bound Philosophy within its own
Pale, and not allegorize the Holy Scrip∣ture
thereto, where Philosophy is not
understood there.

To the thing in hand; by continual
decoction our Work will shew, as in Cir∣culation,
Page 229

a real change of the ascending
Humidity; the first will be white, and so
continue a long time, which is called
Water or Phlegm, and after it the Water
will be coloured, and ascend so on the
sides of the Vessel, which is called Oyl;
and this Oyl is not combustible, for it is
the true Sulphur of Gold, and therefore
as permanent as the Mercury.

Yet be not mistaken, nor do not ima∣gine
that because we speak of incombu∣stible
Oyl, that our Work is to be per∣formed
with the Fire of a Wind, Oven,
or of Bellows, (as some foolishly ima∣gine)
to burn up what is combustible,
until the very incombustible Oyl be left,
for all our volatile subject is turned into
incombustible fixity, with a moderate
decoction in our secret Athanor, whose
heat in its highest vigoration is but very
obscurely red, hardly perceptible, and in
its lowest degree is not full half so strong,
or half at the most.

Page 230
Do this with heat easie and nourishing,
First with moist Fire, and after that with dry,
The Flegm with patience out-drawing,
And after that the other Natures wittily:
Dry up thine Earth until it be thirsty,
By Calcination, else labourest thou in vain,
And then make it drink up the moisture again.
THis is a heat which is friendly to the
Bodies, for it causeth the Spirit to
ascend, and yet suffers it to return, and
by reason of its ascending and returning,
the Matter below stands continually
moist, and boileth with a perpetual mo∣tion
and exhalation, which ascends and
returns day and night every hour and
minute without intermission.

This moist Air, or liquid form at bot∣tom,
with Ebullition and sending forth
a spiritual smoak or Vapour, (in which,
saith Artephius, the whole Mastery con∣sists)
continues about six weeks, or there∣abouts,
and then the boiling will turn
to a Pitchy swelling, and puffing up like
Page 231

Leavened Dough; and from that time
the Compound shall grow dryer and
dryer, coming at length to Pitch-black
Atoms, or Powder impalpable, and the
fumes shall cease for six weeks.

Be patient therefore in decoction, and
wait with a great deal of confidence, un∣til
thou seest thy Water, which at first
ascends white and flegmatick, to begin
to change colour, and the Exhalations to
arise discoloured within the Glass. Then
continue your decoction till the Cloud
which is conceived be brought forth: for
in this Operation be sure that the Seeds
begin to mingle, and will give you a
sign of the beginning of the Conjunction
of Natures, and that is the gilding of
the Glass about the sides within the Con∣cave,
as if it were overspread with leaves
of pure Gold.

Continue still your decoction till the
Earth at the bottom begin to appear,
and the moisture of the Compound be∣gin
to be terminated in Di•ess, in colour
Black, which is a sure sign of your right
progress, and without which you can ne∣ver
attain the Mastery.

Page 232

Remember that in this Calcination
thou hast a portion of Water in the up∣per
part of thy Vessel, which did not de∣scend;
and in the time of the ceasing of
the fumes, the Body grows very dry,
even to Calcination, which when it is in∣tirely
perfected, the Water is as it were
by a Magnetical virtue drawn down, and
then follows a second Liquefaction.

Separation thus must thou oftentimes make,
Thy Waters dividing into parts two,
So that the subtle from the gross thou take,
Till the Earth remain below in colours bloe;
That Earth is fixed to abide all woe.
The other part is spiritual and flying,
But thou must turn them all into one thing.
BUt to return to our Work of Subli∣mation,
which is as was touched be∣fore,
the Key of the whole Work, by
which Separation is made uncessantly
each day and hour.

Thus are the Waters divided from the
Waters, that is, the Waters above from
them which are below; for part of the
Water ascends up like a fume, and con∣geals
Page 233

and runs down the sides of the
Glass in drops like veins, and part re∣mains
still below with the Body, and
with it boils visibly, and that unces∣santly.

By this Work thou hast the subtle or
thin parts of the Body, and the thin parts
of the Water, ascend and mingle; and
the gross part of the Body, and the gross
part of the Water, mixt below, the one
by subliming together, and the other by
boiling together: thus is thy Body be∣low
compounded of two even the most
fixed parts of Sol, with the grosser parts
of Lunaria; and thy Water of two parts,
the Soul of Sol, and the Spirit of Lunaria,
which is the true mystical ground of
Fixation.

Thus by subliming in a continual Va∣pour
whatever is Spiritual and Heaven∣ly,
both in the Water and in the Body
lightly ascending, and in the upper part
of the Glass taking the nature of a Spirit,
what is more gross, earthy and corpo∣real,
will in the bottom take the nature
of a Body, whose colour, the Soul being
separated, will be as Black as Pitch.

Page 234

This Body is a middle substance be∣tween
the Body and the Water, a Limus,
a new Body, or Adamica terra, a medium
between fixed and not fixed; it is not so
fixed as to be equal to Sol, nor yet so
volatile as the Mercury, but it is suffi∣ciently
fixed to endure a Fire requisite
for this Work, and to suffer all the pain
and woe of this our Purgatory, in which
it abides six weeks without fumes or
vapour.

But as for the Spirit, that is a tender
thing, nor is it able to endure the Fire,
but flys from it, and abides in the upper∣most
part of the Glass; only so long as
the fumes arise, the ascending do still
meet with them which are above, till at
last making over great drops, they fall
down; and when the fumes cease, as
much of the Spirit as the Concave of the
Glass will hold without running down,
stays above until intire Calcination be
perfected, and then they are drawn down
by a Magnetical virtue: So that here is
all the mystery of the proportion of the
Glass to the Matter, namely, that it be so
big, and no bigger, as in its Concave
Page 235

will hold up a competent quantity of
Water, (after Calcination to water the
dry pores) while the Body below rots
into Atoms.

Then shall you bring back the Water
upon the Earth, and circulate again so
long till there be a total joyning, till the
Spirit become the Body, and the Body
become the Spirit, and all be made true
Fire or Tincture; of which Conjunction
this true Separation is the cause, and
without it it cannot be made.

Then Oyl and Water with Water shall distill,
And through her help receive moving:
Keep well these two, that thou not spill
Thy Work for want of due closing,
And make thy Stopple of Glass melting,
The top of thy Vessel together with it,
Then Philosopher lick it is up shit:
IN this second Circulation, which is
after Conjunction, there shall be no
more the Body below and the Spirit
above, but all shall be one, and the Body
which is the Sulphur, shall always follow
the Spirit on the Fire wherever it flys.
Page 236

The occasional cause of all this, is our
first Water, which though vile, is there∣fore
to be much valued, for it is very pre∣cious;
through the virtue of which it
comes to pass, that our Earth yields a
Water, and causeth it to fly with the
Spirit aloft, and is the Soul of our Sol,
which at length doth allure the said Spi∣rit
and Body to union, which else would
never be: and then the Body beyond
its own nature is lifted up, moving un∣cessantly
with the Spirit and Soul upon
the Fire, for all now are made one inse∣parably;
and this is called the sealing
the Mother in the belly of the Infant which
she bore, that is, the Earth below is so
united to the Water that arose from it,
that in this Operation after this true
Conjunction, they are never more di∣vided,
but are together sublimed, and
descend continually, moving and alter∣ing
continually until perfect Comple∣ment.

Now for as much as all the Mastery
consists in Vapour, which are called the
great Winds, which are in the Vessel at
the forming of this our Embrio, there∣fore
Page 237

great care must be had lest the Spi∣rits
exhale. Which they will do, with∣out
the Glass have a strong guard; for
first, they are subtle; nor that only, but
ascend with a great impetus, by reason
of our Fire, which must cause the inferio∣ra
ebullire & moveri continuò, & infe∣riora
circulari, quolibet momento; and
thirdly, in Putrefaction the Body and
Spirits have a most subtle odour, which
also must be retained.

For preventing of all, thou shalt have
thy Stopple as firm as any part of thy
Glass, which let it be strong, as is said,
and the neck long and strong, and let
the neck be melted up with a Lamp, or
with Coals, and closed well without much
wringing, which makes the Glass brit∣tle;
but being nipt up, and after that
staying in the same heat, turning it to
and fro in the clear heat, the Glass will
come to as exactly close and smooth a su∣perficies,
as in any other place.

This is the true and sure way which
Philosophers have secured their Glasses
by. Let it cool by degrees, and be very
wary that it get no crack in cooling,
Page 238

which if it do, though never so little,
you must not connive at it, lest the winds
within cause it there to burst, as being a
weak defective place.

The Water wherewith thou mayst revive thy Stone,
Look thou distill before thou work with it.
Oftentimes by it self alone,
And by this sight thou shalt wit,
From feculent faeces when it is quit:
For some men can with Saturn it multiply,
And such like substance, which we defie.
THus thou seest how our Work must
be ordered in reference to its Regi∣men,
but the main matter is our Water▪
Which Water, as saith Artephius, is the
Vinegar of Mountains, and it is the only
Instrument for our Work: its Prepara∣tion
consists in Cohobation, which we
will discover. In my little Treatise cal∣led
Introitus Apertus, and in my other
Tractate called Ars Metallorum Meta∣morphose•s,
I speak as much of it as
a man can speak, without giving a
Receipt; but to the Ingenious, what
Page 239

there is written is far better than any
Receipt.

This I say, that it must first be coho∣bated
in a very wonderful way, (for it
is such a Cohobation that hath not its
like in the World) and for several times,
to a determinate number, and after it
may and ought to be distilled per se, with∣out
addition, again and again, that thou
mayst have the Water clean from any
Exotical mixture.

When it ascends like to the Pearled
dew, thou mayst then know that it is
sufficiently pure, which is not till all the
filthiness be cast from the centre, and
wash'd from the superficies: Thy Water
then hath so excellent a Pontick faculty,
that it will dissolve Jupiter, Saturn, or
Venus, into Mercury and Sulphur; for it
commands Metals as their true Water
Mineral, which no Mercury in the World
is, but our Mercury, nor can be, for Rea∣sons
known to the Adepti, which if I
should give, there would be none almost
so stupid but would easily apprehend
them, for they are most demonstrable.
This only I at present say of this Mercury,
Page 240

that it is the Mother of Metals, and there∣fore
hath power to reduce them, by di∣viding
their principles of Sulphur and
Mercury; but we count it a loss to im∣ploy
our Mercury to such such sordid uses, for
we spoil the goodness of it hereby. Gold
only is drowned in it, that is, it is redu∣ced
without division of parts; but though
the Sulphur and Mercury be for a time di∣stinct,
yet they will joyn with the Wa∣ter,
and together, and so remain perpe∣tually;
which other Metals in their disso∣lution
will not, for their Sulphurs being
not perfect, are rejected to the superficies,
and never are received to union again, for
they are Heterogeneous.

Distill it therefore till it be clean,
And thin like Water as it should be,
Like Heaven in colour bright and sheene,
Keeping both figure and ponderosity:
There with did Hermes moisten his Tree,
In his Glass that he made it to grow upright,
With Flowers discoloured beautiful to sight.
SO then to return to what we digres∣sed
a little from, thy Water must be
Page 241

so long distilled, until it be very clean;
for this, saith the Philosopher, is thy first
work, to make clean thy Mercury, and
then into clean Mercury to put clean Bo∣dies,
for who can expect a pure Genera∣tion
from that which is unclean?

The next property of thy Water is,
that it must be thin, even as thin as any
other Mercury; for if the external pro∣portion
be corrupted, it is an evident sign
that the inward nature is confused.

It must also be of a very bright co∣lour,
even like to fine burnished Silver,
as saith Artephius. Hence saith a certain
Philosopher, that our Water to sight is
like to a Coelestial Body.

Our Water must not be reduced into
any limpid Diaphanous liquor, as some
fondly imagine, and as I my self in my
time of errours did conceit, but it must
keep its Mercurial form pure and incor∣rupted.
It is also very ponderous, so pon∣derous
that it is somewhat more weighty
then any other Mercury in the World.

This is the only one Mercury, and there
is none in the whole World besides it
which can do our Work: with this
Page 242
Hermes did moisten his Body, and made
it to rot and putrefie.

By means of this Water the Body shall
be brought to have a vegetative Soul,
for it will shoot forth as with Sprigs, and
Leaves, and Branches, and after it will
resolve into Powder like Atoms.

In the time of this process many co∣lours
shall come and go, rise and set,
which will be a pleasant spectacle to the
beholder, and shorten the time won∣derfully,
which else would seem very
tedious.

This Water is like to the venomous Tyre,
And with it the mighty Triacle is wrought;
It is a poison most strong of ire,
A stronger poison cannot be thought,
Oft times therefore at the Pothecaries it is sought.
But no man shall thereby be intoxicate,
From time it is to Medicine Elixerate.
THis Water is by Philosophers called
their Venom, and indeed it is a very
strong poison, to wit, to the Body of Sol,
to which it is mixed: but what it is to
Page 243

the Body of Man, I never tried my self,
nor gave it to another, nor do I believe
did any of they. But as concerning the
Medicine that is made by it, and out of
it, it is certain, that of all Medicines in
the World it is the highest, for it is the
true Arbor vitae, which doth answer the
universal desires of them who have it in
this kind; for besides its virtue Cura∣tive,
which it hath in a wonderful mira∣culous
way, it can penetrate even to our
Constitutive principles, which no other
Mineral Medicine can do. Though Pa∣racelsus
glory much of his Renovantia &
Restaurantia, (which we have known,
as being Masters of his secret Alcahest,
of which if I live I will write a particu∣lar
Treatise) yet it is not his Haematina,
nor yet his Arcana, nor his Elixiria, nor
his Essentiae, nor any of his secrets, which
are surely noble Medicines, that can
reach the root of Life, which this can
and will; for it performs all, only it can∣not
prevail against the appointment of
God, otherwise were it not for that de∣cree
it could really keep a man immor∣tal,
for it renews Youth, retards Age,
Page 244

and restores to most exquisite and com∣pleat
health, encreaseth strength won∣derfully;
yea it will not only renew Hair
to those from whom it is fallen, but it
will change the hoary head into a youth∣ful
colour, which will not grow hoary
again for many years, nor ever, if the
use of it were fully known, and it were
used as it ought to be.

Hereupon in respect of its wonderful
virtue, after it is made into Medicine,
Philosophers have by Analogy conclu∣ded,
that it was before the greatest poi∣son,
for they have a Maxim (ex summo
veneno, summa Medicina) which as I do
not always hold true, so I shall not here
dispute. But he who thinks, because Phi∣losophers
say it is such a deadly poison,
that it is to be bought at the Apotheca∣ries,
or Druggists, he is mistaken; for as
it is first bought, I confess it is very ve∣nomous,
but this malignity I conceive
and know is fully taken away, before it
become the Philosophers Mercury.

But whatever it be in its Crudity, I am
sure it is not so in its Perfection, for he
who shall take of it then, shall be so far
Page 245

from receiving any damage by it, that
he shall find it to be a soveraign Medi∣cine,
which hath not its like in the whole
Universe.

For then as is the Triacle true,
And in its working doth marvels shew,
Restoring many from death to life;
But see thou mingle it with no Corrosive,
But choose it pure and quick running,
If thou thereby wilt have winning.
IT is not the Triacle of Galen, nor yet
of Hippocrates, (which yet if right
made are of great efficacy) that can com∣pare
to it; for first, it kills all the venom
of any disease or malady, so that those
diseases which do astonish the beholders,
are by this overcome even ad miracu∣lum:
for suppose a man dying with the
Tokens of the Plague, so that he is upon
the very point of departure, (and the
decree be not past, for then there is no
recovery) if he have but a drop of this
Elixir poured down, so that he swallow
it, he shall immediately recover, and in
short time he will be restored to his for∣mer
Page 246

health. Now that it doth immedi∣ately
reach the root of Life, I shall de∣monstrate:
Suppose one with a very lan∣guishing
disease be consumed to nothing
in comparison, and for want of Spirits be
just going out of the World, so the de∣cree
be not past, if he have but strength
even in the Agony of death, but to take
a drop of this Elixir, he will recover and
revive, and in a few days in comparison
will be doubly stronger then ever he was
before. Suppose one of a very weak
Constitution, and sickly, and every day
ill, feeble all over, if he take of this
Elixir, it will in a short time alter his
Constitution fundamentally, so that he
shall be far stronger then any other man
ordinarily is.

A noble Philosopher (though I scarce
believe him to be an Adeptus of the
Stone) hath wrote of late a small Trea∣tise
of Fevers, the Lithiasis, and the Pe∣stilence,
and there he saith in one of his
Tractates, That the loss of strength which
is made by Venery and Bloud-letting, is
wholly irrecoverable. It is true, and I
verily believe that he had Medicines very
Page 247

noble, and it is pity but he had this se∣cret
to preserve his old age, for I seri∣ously
profess, that of all the Tractates
that ever I read, they are the most Phi∣losophical;
but by this expression it is
evident, that he was ignorant of this
secret.

For although by Venery, or a Tabes,
or Bleeding, or by any other way a man
be debilitated, he may be restored by this
Elixir, not only to perfect health, but
also to such a measure of strength which
he never had before. Yea and a man or
woman who is born to hereditary weak∣ness,
may be changed into a more then
ordinary strength by the use of our Me∣dicine:
or a man who by labour, sick∣ness
and years, is come to the Graves
mouth, even to drop in it, may by use
hereof be restored his hair, his teeth, and
his strength, so that he shall be of greater
agility then in his youth, and of greater
strength, and may live many years, pro∣vided
the period of the Almighties de∣cree
be not come.

For Minerals are of all Sublunary Bo∣dies
the most perfect, and the best part of
Page 248

them are Metals, which when they are
perfect, defend themselves from all fear
of corruption perpetually. Now the
Spirit of the Metal when it is exalted
to a millenary perfection, it tingeth all
Metals imperfect to an incorruptible pu∣rity;
but then this Spirit must be made
a Body, according to the saying of
Hermes, Vis ejus est integra si versa fuerit
in terram.

But this transcendent Tincture may be
dissolved into an Oyl, or rather a pure
Liquor, which then is not proper for
Metals, but is only Medicinal; for it is
of the nature of Light, and therefore it
doth as readily concur with our formal
vital principle, as one flame will enter
another.

Yea and beyond this, it may be exal∣ted
beyond the nature of man, yea and
of any tangible Body, to become a most
radiant perpetual Light, which I have
seen, though not my self actually made.
All this is done by the Divine virtue of
our Water, which is to be prepared, as
is said, by Cohobation and Distillation,
for our Water is a living Water, and
Page 249

not corrosive, as many do mis-interpret
our Books.

These then are the circumstantial qua∣lities
of our Water, it is pure, clean, and
very bright, it is quick, and very fluent,
without Humectation; it is the only pro∣fitable
subject that we can choose for
this Art, and whatever can be taken in
hand in the World besides this, is but
fallacious.

It is a marvellous thing in kind,
And without it can nothing be done,
Therefore did Hermes call it his Wind,
For it is up-flying from Sun and Moon,
And maketh our Stone to fly with it soon,
Reviving the dead, and giving life
To Sun and Moon, Husband and Wife.
IT is of a wonderful Composition, yea
so wonderful that if thou shouldst
know it by relation only, thou couldst
not believe it. Study therefore only to
know it, for it is the very hinge on which
turns all perfection, it is that which the
Wise men never revealed but only in
Figures and Metaphors.

Page 250

Some have called it their sharp Vine∣gar,
because of its dissolvent quality;
others have called it a Bird, a Goose, a
Phesant, and many such names they have
given it.

But because it ariseth in the form of a
Wind or Vapour, the Philosophers have
called it their Vapour, their Smoak, and
their Wind; and for this cause command,
that the Porter keep diligent watch, that
it fly not away or exhale, for it would
spoil the Work.

This Water then flyeth the more Spiri∣tual
part of it, and the Corporal part re∣maineth
below in the form of an Humi∣dity,
which doth bubble and boil conti∣nually,
and the smoak in the Head con∣denseth
and returneth in drops upon the
Body; and by this means the Body of
Sol, which is most fixed, to the astonish∣ment
of Nature is made volatile, and
sends out in the Exhalation of the Water
its subtle fiery Soul.

Thus the dead Body hath infused into
it a Spirit of life, and begins to be en∣dowed
with a living Soul, which moves
aloft with the Spirit, and returns with
Page 251

the same, till the Body be wholly re∣newed.

And by this means the Body of the Sun
retaining the more Corporeal part of the
Water at the bottom, they boil together,
and enter one another, and so both by
decoction become more and more Cor∣poral,
and make together one Herma∣phroditical
Body, of which the more
fixed parts of the Sun, and the grosser
parts of the Water, are the Component
principals: So that being thus mixed,
the more Corporal parts below, and the
more Spiritual parts in Sublimation, the
Bodily part is Husband and Wife to it
self, for all Conception is made at the
bottom of the Vessel.

Page 252
Which if they were not by craft made quick,
And their fatness with Water drawn out,
And so the thin dissevered from the thick,
Thou shouldest never bring this Work about.
If thou wilt therefore speed without doubt,
Raise up the Birds out of their Nest,
And after bring them again to rest.
THese Bodies do send forth a thin sub∣tle
fume, which may be compared
to their breath; and the returning of it,
and fuming continually, may be likened
to the breathing in and out of Air, for
saith Artephius, all things live by Air:
and so our Stone it is inspired by the Air,
which Air is the fume which ascends
continually, which partakes of both Na∣tures
as well as the Body below doth.
Also this makes that below to boil and
swell continually, which it would not
do, did not the Earth retain the moi∣sture;
and the Sublimation carries with
it the subtilest part, or Soul of the Body,
which easily appears by its changing of
colours, for whatever coloureth is of
Sulphur, which is unctuous, and therefore
Page 253

the Sublimation appears pinguous: the
medium of this Extraction is Water, be∣cause
our Water and the Sulphur are Ho∣mogeneal.

Wherefore in this Circulation there
are two things to be considered, the
bottom, and the top; the bottom is not
only the Body of Sol, for so it would not
stand liquid, and flow, and boil, and bub∣ble
as it doth: therefore it is certain,
that the Body retains part of the Water,
which is more thick, which thickness di∣gestion
and mixture hath caused; which
grosser part of the Water is joyned with
the Body, but not perfectly united. The
uppermost part is not only from the Wa∣ter,
nor yet the most whole of the Wa∣ter,
but a certain subtle portion of your
first Vinegar, which hath in it the most
pure part of your Gold, which is subli∣med
with it, which both together make
a medium of much Firiness: So then by
reason of the mixture both the upper∣most
and the subsident part are reduced
to a mean, which hold one of another;
therefore our Body at this time, and in
this Operation, is called the Body both
Page 254

of the Sun and Moon, and the Vapour
contains both the Soul of the Sun, and
the Spirit of the Mercury. Take this for
your prey, for I have reveal'd what Phi∣losophers
upon penalty of an Anathema
would never disclose.

If you have well attended to what I
have said, I have said enough, and if this
do not suffice you, I know not what will.
Remember well what I have said, if you
ever expect success.

To sum up all therefore in one word,
for I have been so long that I fear I have
been too prolix: Remember what you
go about, and what you work on. You
take in hand an Earthly Body, which
you would bring to a Heavenly Tincture.
This you would effect by Mercury, which
is the only way or medium in the World.
First then, sublime till by Mercury thou
hast brought thy Body to the height of
volatility, and thou shalt find that in this
dissolved Body there will be such a fer∣ment,
which will recongeal the Spirit.

Page 255
Water with Water accord will and ascend,
And Spirit with Spirit, for they be both of one kind,
Which when they be exalted make to de∣scend.
So shalt thou unloose that which Nature erst did bind,
Mercury essential turning into Wind;
Without which natural and subtle Separa∣tion,
May never be compleat profitable Genera∣tion.
FOr the Body though in its manifesto it
be Sulphur congealed, and dry, yet in
its occulto it is Mercury liquid, and moist:
Now the Water which thou mixest with
it hath this vertue, to open its pores, and
then the Water of the Body will as natu∣rally
agree and ascend with thy Water
of Life, which thou didst put to it, as one
Water will joyn with another.

Now as Sol hath a hidden Spirit, so
hath our Mercury, which is in it invisi∣ble;
for to sight it appears as other Mer∣cury,
only a little brighter, but in effect
Page 256

they differ wonderfully: which Spirit
will as naturally unite with the Soul, or
Fiery part of the Body, as Light will mix
with Light, and then the gross part of
the Body, and of the Water, in the bot∣tom
of the Vessel, will be brought in ab∣sence
of the Soul and Spirit to putrefie.
So then these two Fiery Natures being
Homogeneous, will readily mix, and will
sublime together in form of a white
Smoak or Vapour, as saith noble Arte∣phius,
and there condensing in the top of
the Vessel, that is, about the fides, and in
the Concave of the Glass, will return
again and circulate up and down, till it
have destroyed the solidity of the Body,
making it no Body, but subliming what
is subtle, and what is earthly and resisting
turning into Ashes, or an impalpable
Powder, by Calcination.

And after Putrefaction is compleat by
Circulation, the most fixed part which is
called the Body of Fixion, the essential
and most permanent part of both Body
and Water, will ponderously be lifted up
and carried aloft into the Air.

And without this Separation and Di∣vision;
Page 257

all is nothing, for this is the very
Key of the Mastery, it is the cause of
Generation: therefore in vain is what∣ever
is attempted without this, boiling
the gross, and subliming what is subtle,
that in the troubles of the stormy Sea,
which works up and down as the Sea in
the mighty Winds, what is pure may
ascend, and whatever is impure may re∣main
at the bottom; and when all that is
pure is ascended, that which is left is
called the Earth that remains. So Arte∣phius.

Now to help thee in at this Gate,
This last secret I will disclose to thee,
Thy Water must be seven times sublimate,
Else shall no kindly Dissolution be,
Nor Putrefaction shalt thou none see;
Like liquid Pitch nor colours appearing,
For lack of heat within thy Glass working.
NOte then that Sublimation, which
otherwise is called Separation, Di∣vision,
Ascension and Descension, is the
Key of the Work; it is placed for the
third Gate, and yet it is the last and the
Page 258

first; the last it is called by Ripley, and
I to Eccho to his voice assure thee it is
the first and last.

And as the Key of all our Operations
is Separation, so the Key to it is our true
Mercury, truly prepared and proportio∣ned
as it ought to be. Now the propor∣tion
of thy Water, is in reference to its
internal additional Sulphur, which is ad∣ded
by the Philosopher; which is done
by successive Eagles, which are made by
our Philosophical Arsnick, the number
of which ought to be seven. The dark∣ness
vanishing, and the light appearing,
after many showrs, before the flight of
each Eagle, our Water being thus acua∣ted,
is by Acuation purged, and then it
becomes powerful in dissolving the Body,
which will be done with a fewer number
of Eagles, or a greater, but with 7 or 9
most desiredly.

This acuated Water is also the Instru∣ment
which doth move the Gold to pu∣trefie,
which no other Agent in the
World can do; for by this the Body is
ground, softned and mollified, the pores
of it are opened, and the Sulphur invisi∣ble
Page 259

is set at liberty, which causeth the
Body to rot, change colours, and at
length become black like unto melted
Pitch.

But if thou omit any of the number
of Eagles, or fail in the goodness of thy
Arsnick, or erre in the preparation of
the Water with thy Arsnick, either in
Conjunction, or Purification, or Dige∣stion,
or any other errour, of which ex∣perience
will warn thee, do not then ex∣pect
that the most exact Regimen of
heat of thy external Furnace will do the
Work.

Four Fires there be, which thou must under∣stand,
Natural, against Nature, unnatural also,
And the Elemental, which doth burn the brand;
These four Fires use we and no moe,
Fire against Nature must do thy Body woe.
This is our Dragon as I thee tell,
Fiercely burning as the Fire in Hell.
NOw to give thee a touch concerning
our Fire, which he that knows may
Page 260

well be accounted a Master of our Se∣crets:
We have indeed four Fires, which
is one more than Artephius numbred,
which yet he intended to include. The
most noble Fire is Natural, which is that
which we seek to have multiplied, and
that is the Sulphur of Gold, or rather its
Fiery Tincture; it is that which we
seek for, and we use Mercury for Sol
his sake.

Our next Fire is our Fire against Na∣ture,
and that is the Fire of our Water
which is to be corrupted, and by this
corruption Multiplication is made.

The third Fire is Unnatural, which is
the mixture of these two Fires, while they
are in their action and passion, and neither
doth actually predominate.

Now for to give you a reason of these
Fires denomination, know that Mineral
Fire is Sulphur, which is hot and dry,
and it is the death of the Mineral Tree,
that is, it is the cause of coagulating, that
is, taking away the flux of the Mercury
which is cold and moist; this in Gold is
apparent, for it is a coagulated perfect
Body, fixed and permanent in all tryals:
Page 261

this it hath from, its Fire or Sulphur, and
this is Natural.

But now our Water hath an actual and
active Sulphur in it, and yet quick and
fluid, a Fire in Water which yet is not
burned; this Sulphur is true Gold, and
yet it is volatile; this is a Riddle, the
Philosophers Mystery, and yet true; this
is contrary to Natures ordinary opera∣tion
in Mineral Bodies.

Now Nature will always care and pro∣vide
for her own Child, before a Stran∣ger;
Gold is her own Son, and is accor∣ding
to her own Rules: but this Mercury
is the Son of the Philosopher, to whose
nativity though Nature contribute her
help, yet he is out of her ordinary road,
and through the co-operation of Art and
Nature, he is for his qualifications an
astonishment to Nature, hot and dry in∣ternally,
and that actually; for it is im∣pregnated
with real Sulphur, and yet not
coagulated, but in one word Ignis aqua,
Gold truly so called, and that most pure,
yet volatile and crude, and no abortive;
not perfect, yet left in the way to per∣fection,
and yet its virtue active, not
Page 262

extinguished. This subject Nature find∣ing
mixed with her Son, the King, even
Gold, by it she endeavours to mend his
Constitution, and to multiply his virtue;
for though living Gold be a thing of ad∣mirable
force, yet being out of the ordi∣nary
channel of Natures operations, Na∣ture
doth not mind its preservation, much
less its propagation.

These three forenamed Fires are inter∣nal,
secret and invisible, but there is one
more which we use, which is not ours
properly; for every Sophister hath it and
useth it as well as we, and that is Culi∣nary
Fire, which yet is so necessary that
without it we can do nothing, nor yet
without the true knowledge of its due
proportion. So then we use no Fires of
Dung, nor of the Sun, or of Baths, at
some Sophisters perswade themselves and
others, for these are all the Fires which
we use.

With the secret Sulphur that is in our
Water, which we proportion exactly in
the beginning, we open our Body, for
this Fire can do and doth that which no
other Fire can do, for it destroys and
Page 263

conquers the Body, and makes it no Body
but a Spirit.

So that whatever any Sophisters may
suggest, our Fire is Mineral, it is Sulphur,
and that pure; it is united to the Water
in one form, and yet hinders not its flux,
nor corrupts its form.

This is the true Ignis Gehennae, for it
Eclipseth the light of the Bodies, and
makes them become black as Pitch;
which is a symbol of Hell, and for its
Cimmerian darkness is by many of the
Wise men called Hell.

Fire of Nature is the third Menstrual,
That Fire is natural in each thing,
But Fire occasionate we call unnatural,
As heat of Ashes and Balnes for putrefying.
Without these Fires thou mayst nought bring
To Putrefaction, for to be separate,
Thy Matters together proportionate.
OUr natural Fire is, as I said, the true
Sulphur of Gold, which in the hard
and dry Body is imprisoned, but by the
mediation of our Water it is let loose, by
rotting the moles of the Body under
Page 264

which it was detained, and after separa∣tion
of Elements, it appears visibly in our
third Menstrual.

For though Gold be a compact and
dry Earthy Body, none may think that it
became what it is without the virtue of a
Seed, which by perfection is not extinct,
but sealed up only; which Seed is a
Fiery form of Light, which nothing in
the World wanteth, and therefore it
would be a great Anomalum if it should
be only defective in Metals, the choice of
all sublunary Bodies.

Betwixt these two Fires, in the time
of their action and passion one upon ano∣ther,
and from another, there is made a
medium which is part of both, which be∣cause
it is not altogether natural, nor
wholly against nature, is called un∣natural.

The duration of this unnatural Fire is
from the time that the Body begins to
open, and colours to change, that is in a
word, all the time of the rule of Saturn,
and part of the rule of Jupiter, the whole
Regimen of Putrefaction, and so much of
Ablution until the Dove begin to pre∣vail
Page 265

over the Crow; which Putrefaction
as it is the turning of an intire Wheel, so
part of it is done in sicco, when the Body
is all a discontinuous Calx or Ashes, and
part in humido, which is called a Bath,
when the subsident part is liquid and
boils, and the superiour part vapours aloft
and descends.

Thus you see how many Fires we
have, and how they are distinguished:
wherein I have written what I know,
and as many as understand me will esteem
my Writings highly; for without boast∣ing
let me assure thee, thou hast not such
another Directory in the whole World:
I may speak it without offence, being
unknown to thee, and thou to me. This
I say not to detract from any Philoso∣pher,
for many were deeply seen in this
Mastery, but almost all were envious,
and the most candid would have judged
my plainness deserving an Anathema ma∣ranatha.
I have here laid you so plain
demonstrations as I go, that you cannot
miss, if God direct you; and without
the knowledge of the Fires you are far
wide, whatever whimsies you have in
Page 266

your head; for you shall never see the
dissolution of the Body, nor shall you
ever make black, and by consequence
you cannot divide Elements as you
ought to do, because you proportioned
not your Matters wisely in the beginning
of the Work; for, Dimidium facti qui
bene cepit, habet, he who makes a good
beginning, hath as good as half done.

Therefore make Fire thy Glass within,
Which burneth the Body much more than Fire
Elemental, if thou wilt win
Our secrets according to thy desire:
Then shall thy Seed both rot and spire,
By help of Fire occasionate,
That kindly after they may be separate.
TAke then my counsel, be not so care∣ful
of the Fire of the Athanor, as of
your Internal Fire; seek it in the house
of Aries, and draw it from the depths of
Saturn; let Mercury be the Internuncio,
and your signal the Doves of Diana.
By the River you shall find a Tree, in
which is the Nest of 10 Eagles; take of
them 7, 9, or all▪ but take them very
Page 267

white, which oft plunging in the River
will cause: with these you may over∣come
the Lion.

The heat of their stomachs is far more
powerful than any Fire in the World;
for in it Gold will be destroyed, that thou
shalt not know what is become of it;
which yet loseth nothing from it self,
though exposed to the greatest violence
of any flame.

Thus with patience thou shalt see thy
desire fulfilled, and thy heart shall re∣joyce;
for a wide door shall be opened
by which thou mayst behold the Myste∣ries
of Nature in all her Kingdoms.

In 40 or 50 days thou shalt behold the
highest sign of most perfect corruption
of thy perfect Body, which of a dead
lump is thus become Seed, in which
though many cannot believe that there
is any active virtue, yet it is now to the
astonishment of Nature made living, and
by its life it kills that by which it was
made alive, and both being mingled
make one Bath, which by continual de∣coction,
moving the Earth and Water
below, and circulating the Air and Fire
Page 268

above, make at last one inseparable
quintessence, the Father of Wonders.

Now to God only wise, the reveal••
of these hidden Mysteries, be praise from
all his Creatures for ever.

Of Separation the Gate must thus be won.
THus I have run through this Gate of
Separation, which might be enough,
for it is all; but because the Wise men
have made many Operations for to hide
the secret, and have scattered their no∣tions
here and there in every Gate o•
Operation, sometimes being at the be∣ginning,
sometimes at the end, thereby
to puzzle the unwary; I must to make
this Treatise intire, run through the rest
with what brevity and plainness I can.

Page 269
I Shall now sing a pleasant Elegy,
What did betwixt two Lovers
Fall out, seek the reason why,
This Song discovers;
A Wife
Did lose her life,
Because she did her Husband revive,
Whose death did enforce
The man to remorse,
To see her dead who gave him life.
He was a King, yet dead as dead could be,
His Sister a Queen,
Who when her Brother she did breathless see,
The like was never seen;
She cryes
Ʋntil her eyes
With over-weeping were waxed dim,
So long till her tears
Reach'd up to her ears,
The Queen sunk, but the King did swim.
These Waters with the Fire which prevail'd,
Did him so perplex,
That starting up, not knowing what him ail'd,
He sorely did vex;
Page 270
He thought
That there was wrought
Some Treason, but full little did know
That it was a Queen
Him sav'd, though unseen,
And dy'd her self sad white I trow.
At length her Carcass, when her Gall was broke,
Rose up to the top,
From which fum'd up so venomous a smoak,
His breath which did stop;
He found,
Which made him sound,
The cause of his life his Sister did slay;
This made him full sad,
And grief made him mad,
Thus soon his strength fell to decay.
His House and Chamber were so charg'd with heat,
It made him to faint,
And fainting fell into a grievous sweat;
His sweat did so taint
The Room
With foul persume,
Which made them almost suffocate:
So feeble he grew,
He could not eschew,
But dung'd and piss'd there where he sate.
Page 271
At length with sorrows many he expires,
Full glad of the change,
That death at last should answer his desires;
But what is most strange,
When dead,
That it might be said
How dearly he his Sister did love,
Their Corps did unite,
That they in despight
Of Fire, would not asunder move.
And thus together they contumulate
A rotting did lye,
Passing through dismal Purgatories Gate;
Wherein they did fry
So long,
Ʋntil among
The Saints for purity they might pass:
Their sins were no more
To be found on score,
They then were clear as Crystal Glass.
A Spirit then of life from Heaven came,
In their Bodies dead,
Which now united, of renowned fame
To Heaven were led;
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Where they
Abode for aye,
Enjoying pleasures for evermore,
To death not subject,
Were now the object
Of wonder, for th' had Riches store.

AN EXPOSITION UPON THE Fourth Gate, Which is CONJUNCTION.

Page 275
The Fourth Gate Opened, Which is CONJUNCTION.
After the Chapter of Natural Separation,
By which the Elements of our Stone disse∣vered be,
The Chapter here followeth of secret Con∣junction,
Which Natures repugnant joyneth to perfect unity,
And so them knitteth that none from others may flee,
When they by the Fire shall be examinate,
They be together so surely conjungate.
HAving run through the Chapter
of Separation with a plain stile,
we shall now come to the life of
all, which is Conjunction; for we seek
not a thing which may be capable of Se∣paration,
but which may abide in all
tryals, the parts being impossible to be
Page 276

separated one from another, for so our
Tincture ought to be, or else it will
be wholly unprofitable for our purpose.
For Separation is but the middle motion,
by which we pass from the unary simpli∣city
of Gold, to the millenary plusquam
perfection of our Stone; before which
can be attained, there must be a loosing
of the Compages of the Body, that so the
Spiritual Fire, or Tincture may be set
loose; which being loosed, will certainly
multiply it self with that by which it was
dissolved, with which it is necessary that
it should Radically be mixed and united,
so as that both the dissolvent and the
dissolved may make one together.

This then is the benefit of our Water,
that it doth not only reduce, open and
mollifie our Body, and cause it to send
out its Seed, but it is actually recongea∣led
with the fermental virtue of this se∣minal
influence of Gold, that it becomes
together with the Body, one new Body
perpetually united.

So that although our Water be vola∣tile
when it is first taken, yet notwith∣standing
after it hath first made the Body
Page 277

no Body, but a Spirit, in which spiritua∣lizing
the Virtue or Tincture is augmen∣ted;
after that the Body by Congela∣tion,
makes this no Spirit but a Body, by
which the fixity is advanced mightily, so
that both will endure all Fire.

For it is not only an apparent union
that is made, but real, so real that the
Spirit and the Body pass one into ano∣ther,
penetrating each others dimensions,
the Spirit being one with the Body, and
the Body being the Spirit, the Form
swallowing up the Matter in unity, so that
all becomes really Tincture.

And therefore Philosophers give this defi∣nition,
Saying this Conjunction is nothing else
But of dissevered qualities a Copulation,
Or of principles a Coequation as others tells.
But some men with Mercury that Apotheca∣ries sells,
Meddleth Bodies that cannot divide
Their Matter, and therefore they slip aside.
OF this Operation Philosophers make
a great Mystery, and speak of it
Page 278

very hiddenly, in respect to the terminus
of it, which they call the hour of the Stones
Nativity, in which they say many mar∣vels
will appear, for all the colours that
can be invented in the World will be
then apparent.

Some say their Conjunction is our re∣conciliation
of Contraries, a making
friendship between Enemies, because in
that time the volatile is still ascending and
descending upon the fixt: this is by them
ascribed to Contrariety.

Others measuring all sublunary things
by the rules of Symmetry and Ametry,
do ascribe this Operation (which they
for similitude sake compare to a Duel)
to the over-prevailing of one principles
qualities above the qualities of the other,
and therefore they define Auriety to be
the Anaticalness of the four Elements in
mixture, each in his quality acting pro∣portionable
to the resistance of its con∣trary,
& vice versa. But this is but an
Entanglement, in which the Chymists
stumble upon School Academical Princi∣ples:
I had rather embrace their Secret,
as for Operation; but for Philosophy,
Page 279

jump with that noble Bruxellian, whose
promised Treatises when the World shall
enjoy, I suppose they will be the pro∣foundest
piece of Philosophy that ever
was revealed to the World: which I ad∣mire
not so much for his Experiments, of
none of which I am ignorant, nor Para∣celsus
to boot, many, yea most of which are
far harder (though sooner wrought) than
the Elixir, and the Alchahest is a hundred
times more difficult; but what I most ho∣nour
in that noble Naturalist is, that he
did search out the Occulta Naturae, more
accurately then ever any did in the
World. So that (setting aside the skill
of this Mastery, of which I cannot find
any footsteps in what of his is extant)
I am confident he was without flattery
Natures Privy-Counsellor, and for Phi∣losophical
verity might have comman∣ded
this Secret; but God doth not re∣veal
all to all men, yet who knows
what he may live to be Master of in this
point too.

This I speak not to flatter him, who
(besides what is evident to the whole
World in his Writings) have no other
Page 280

character of him, and to him I am like to
remain a perpetual Stranger; yet could
as heartily desire his acquaintance, as
any mans I know in the World, and if
the Fates prevent not mine intentions,
by mine or his death, I shall endeavour
familiarity with him. But this by the
way.

To return whence I digressed; our
final secret is first to unite the Spirit and
Soul of our dissolving Water, that by the
mediation of the Soul, the Spirit and
Body may be conjoyned, and then after
several Sublimations and Precipitations
made for that end, that the Body may be
spiritualized, and the Spirit corporalized,
so fix together the Soul, Body and Spirit,
the flying and the fixt, that all the Ele∣ments
(to use Philosophers terms) may
acquiesce and rest in this Nest of Earth,
in which all the virtue of the superiours
and inferiours is contained, both in power
and act.

From what hath been said may appear,
the strong passive delusion that hath ta∣ken
many men of our Age, and former∣ly,
who with the Chymist in Sendivogius,
Page 281

cannot dream of any other Mercury, then
that Mercury which is to be bought at
Druggists, which they take and sublime
variously to make it clean, and then with
Hogheland mix it with Gold, applying
all the words and sayings of Philosophers
to this their mixture: But when the time
comes that they should see the signs spe∣cified
of the Philosophers, there they fail,
it may be by reason of something exter∣nal
to the Gold, (which it gets in folia∣ting,
or the Mercury, which it gets in
washing and purging, which though it
be but little, yet it is enough in heat to
give a light Tincture to the Superficies)
they may with Hogheland, see a discolou∣red
outside, which is nothing; for our
Operation is not so trivial, that a man
had need of Spectacles, and a most clear
light to discern it: but it is so apparent,
that a half blind man would be amazed
at it, for our Body, even the perfect Body
is divided, which common Mercury can
never do, though a man bless himself ne∣ver
so much in his mock-purgations.

But when as such Work-men have
waited their time out, and it may be out
Page 282

again, and see not blackness, then they
run into another extreme, and share the
fault of their errour (which was only in
their Mercury, or withall in their propor∣tion
for pondus and heat of external Fire)
between both principles, and then say
with Hogheland, our Mercury and our
Gold are not vulgar, but they are some∣thing
(no man knows what) which the
Philosophers have called Gold and Mer∣cury;
which yet are some strange thing
which man never heard of, or some com∣mon
thing, or some vile thing. Thus they
vanish into smoak, and all for want of
knowledge of our true Mercury.

For until the Soul be separate,
And cleansed from its original sin
With the Water, and throughly spirituali∣zate,
The true Conjunction mayst thou never begin.
Therefore the Soul first from the Body twine,
Then of the corporal part and of the spiritual,
The Soul shall cause Conjunction perpetual.
REmember then that thou get such a
Mercury, which may destroy and con∣quer
Page 283

thy Body; mollifie it, soften it, and
draw out its Seed, and sever the Soul
from it, by virtue of that Spirit which is
in thy dissolving Water; Spirits naturally
uniting with Spirits, as one flame will mix
with another.

The Soul being thus severed from the
Body, it will dry and rot as naturally as
any other thing will, that hath its Soul
separated. And as by the Water (which
extracts the Soul) it dies and grows pu∣trid
and black, so by the same Water it
is washed from its filthy blackness; then
the clean Soul having cleansed the Body,
is united to it, that from that time the
Body follows the Soul, and is moved al∣ways
with it upon the Fire, flying and
descending in the form of a Spirit, which
is a wonder to behold.

This is our Secret so much esteemed,
Conjunction, which is celebrated after
the loosing, putrefying and purifying of
our Body. This is the true process of our
Work, according to the true exigency
of Nature; first the Soul is to be divided
from the Body, that is, grosness may be
purged by corruption and rotting, and
Page 284

the Spirit which is a form of light, and
seminal, may, being let loose, multiply it
self by the Spirit of the Water, and so
being allied to the Body from whence it
was drawn, and to the Water from whose
Spirit it receives an increase in virtue
and Tincture, it may unite both the Spirit
and the Body with a perpetual bond.
He who works thus, shall undoubtedly
attain unto perfection.

Of two Conjunctions Philosophers mention make,
Gross when the Body is with Mercury re∣incrudate;
But let this pass; and to the second heed take,
Which is, as I said, after Separation celebrate,
In which the parties be left with least to colligate,
And so promoted unto most perfect tempe∣rance,
That never after may be repugnance.
BUt when as the Philosophers speak of
Conjunction, it is warily to be con∣sidered
of what Conjunction they do
mean, for as it is a term very often used,
Page 285

so is it very doubtfully to be taken. One
Conjunction which they speak of is gross,
which is properly Amalgamation, it is
the first Operation after the preparation
of the Mercury.

But this is not the Conjunction here
to be understood, but a more secret by
far, in which man worketh nothing at
all, but stands by only and beholds Na∣tures
Operation. And this work is done
without any laying on of hands, and very
quickly, when the Matters are prepared
and made fit. This work is therefore
called a Divine Work.

This Conjunction is far more intimate
than the gross, for this is an union per
minima, or intima, so that the essence of
the one, enters the essence of the other,
so as to make it but one substance.

This maketh a temper which man by
no Art could make, for even as Water
mixed with Water is inseparable, so is it
now with these principles. Now is con∣cord,
amity and friendship made, for now
the hot and the dry, will embrace the
cold and moist, and now patience is made
between the Water and the Fire.

Page 286
Thus causeth true Separation true Conjuncti∣on to be had,
Of Water and Air, with Earth and Fire;
But that each Element into other may be led,
And so abide for ever at thy desire,
Do as do Dawbers with Clay or Mire,
Temper them thick, and make them not too thin,
This do up-drying the rather thou shalt win.
THus the Proverb is verified, Aman∣tium
irae amoris redintegratio est, for
Love brought them together, Love par∣ted
them with a seeming discontent, and
at last Love unites them with a perpe∣tual
tye, that they can no more part for
ever, without a new Resolution in this
dissolving Water, after they are first be∣come
perfect.

Now the same thing is both moist and
dry, hot and cold, according to the qua∣lities
of the Elements, (that I may speak
according to the usual voice of Philoso∣phers)
for now is of two made three,
and of three made four, and of four one;
Page 287

the Quadrangle is turned into a Circle,
to the amazement of Nature.

For the essence of one Element now
penetrateth the essence of another, that
is, the essential properties are so through∣ly
mixed, that all four now make but one
partaking of all.

These are those principles which God
now hath conjoyned, and therefore no∣thing
can separate: Rejoyce now, O Son
of Art, for thou hast the Sun for thy
Diadem, and the Moon Crescent for thy
Garland.

That thou mayst the more certainly,
easily and speedily attain to this, and
that thy signs may the better and or∣derly
appear, next to thy care of pre∣paring
true and purged Mercury, and
pure Gold, first be sure of thy mixture,
mix them like as a Potter mixeth his
Loam.

Be sure you do not over-glut your
Earth with Water, nor cloy your Water
with Earth, but impast them, and then
grind them together as diligently as a
Painter would grind his Colours; for
the more exactly thou mixest them, the
Page 288

better and sooner will they work one
upon another in heat.

Then set thy Glass in a Furnace made
for thy Work, and give a convenient
Fire, in which it may boyl night and day
perpetually, without a minutes ceasing;
order the Fire so that it may in 12 or
24 hours begin to boyl, and from that
hour not to cease boyling, subliming,
ascending and descending, until such time
as the moisture be dried up, and all re∣main
below (at least greatest part) in
form of a discontinuous Calx.

But manners there be of our Conjunction three,
The first is called by Philosophers diptative,
The which between Agent and Patient must be,
Male and Female, Mercury and Sulphur vive,
Matter and Form, thin and thick to thrive.
This Lesson will help thee without doubt,
And our Conjunction truly bring about.
NOw to help thee throughly in this
mystery of Philosophical Conjuncti∣on,
Page 289

I shall particularize all our Conjun∣ctions.
We have particularly three Con∣junctions,
all which must be known
by him who intends to compleat this
Mastery.

The first is gross, which I touched be∣fore;
it is the Amalgamation of Sol with
our Mercury, which because the mixture
is made of two things, it is called Con∣junction
diptative; and the Compound
is now called Rebis, that is, two things,
according to the verse, Res Rebis est
Vina confecta.

In this mixture there are two Natures,
the one more active, which is the Mer∣cury,
the other more passive, which is
Gold: where note, that the activity of
the Mercury above the Gold, is because
the moving virtue of Sol is sealed, that
is, his Sulphur is imprisoned. Otherwise
when Dissolution is made, Sol then is
most active, and Mercury more passive;
Mercury then is as it were the Feminine
Sperm, which being more crude and ten∣der,
it is sooner wrought upon by the
Fire, which Sol the Masculine Sperm feels
not till it be penetrated by the Mercury,
Page 290

and then it is forced to send forth its
Seed; for the formal principle resides
mostly in the Gold, and the material
chiefly in the Water; in the one, being
thick of constitution, the formal part is
sealed; in the other, that little which is,
(in respect of the Body) is more at li∣berty,
and so by consequence sooner
active. These two then must be mixed
(ad justam exigentiam naturae) as is else∣where
hinted and prosecuted largely. To
this if thou hast attended, thou shalt
know the extent and full Latitude of this
Conjunction; this is a manual work, and
the last manual work, next to the put∣ting
and sealing of it in the Egg, that
thou hast, before thou hast attained the
first degree of the Mastery.

The second manner is called Triptative,
Which is a Conjunction of things three,
Of Body, Soul and Spirit, that they not strive,
Which Trinity thou must bring to Ʋnity.
THe next Conjunction that follows this
in order, is when thou hast so admi∣nistred
Page 291

and regulated thy Fire, that thy
Spirits shall so ascend and circulate, until
they have extracted out of the fixed
Body its most digested virtue, or subtle
Soul, which is Sulphureous, or of great
Firiness. Then shall the Spirit and Soul
descend, and shall unite it self with the
Body; then shall the Air be converted
into Dust, according to the process of no∣ble
Sandivogius, where they shall lye con∣tumulate
for six weeks without breath;
and after when the Spirit of life shall en∣ter
into them, the Spirit and Soul shall by
their mighty force carry aloft the Body
with them, so that it shall go out and re∣turn
with them, for now these three are
made one.

For as the Soul to the Spirit the bond must be,
Right so the Body the Soul to him must knit.
Out of thy mind let not this Lesson flit.
SO then by the mediation of the Soul,
the Spirit is made one, and incorpo∣rate
with the Body; for the Soul being
by the Spirit drawn from the Body, doth
Page 292

naturally desire to be united with it
again, and so long as it is from it, is from
home as it were in a Pilgrimage. The
Body also naturally doth desire its Soul,
and will as forcibly attract it as a Load∣stone
doth attract Iron: for know, that
the Soul doth not ascend, but it carries
with it a fermental Odour of the Body,
by which it doth so effectually affect the
Spirit, that it begins to think of taking a
new impression, and becomes daily by
little and little more and more able to
suffer Fire, and by consequence draws
to the nature of a Body: observe this.

The third manner, and also the last of all,
Four Elements together which joyns to abide,
Tetraptative certainly Philosophers do it call,
And specially Guido de Montanor, whos• fame goeth wide,
And therefore in most laudable manner this tide.
BUt yet this Conjunction doth not re∣tain
the volatility of the Compound,
Page 293

though it is so united that the parts ascend
and descend together; the reason is, that
though by the Soul the Spirit and Body
be united, yet the Spirit sometimes doth
carry the Body with it aloft, and the
Body at times precipitates the Spirit, the
Soul holding fast together, till at length
not only these parts, but the Elemental
qualities of them, are so strongly permixt,
that the one doth not more in acting,
then the other doth in resisting, by which
means they are not only united to follow
one another, but fixt to abide Fire to∣gether.

This is the last and noblest Conjuncti∣on,
in which all the mysteries of this
Microcosm have their Consummation.
This is by the Wise called their Tetra∣ptive
Conjunction, wherein the Qua∣drangle
is reduced to a Circle, in the
which there is neither beginning nor
end. He who hath arrived here, may
sit down at Banquet with the Sun and
Moon.

This is the so highly commended Stone
of the Wise, which is without all fear of
corruption; for here are by Nature all
Page 294

Elements Anatically mixed and united,
so that it cannot suffer from any, for it
agrees with all.

In our Conjunction four Elements must ag∣gregate
In due proportion, which first asunder were separate.
THese our Elements are not such vain
trifles, which are idly imagined by
Sophisters; by the primary qualities, to
speak after the common phrase, though
I do not think that any thing attains
perfection upon an account of qualities,
but so it pleased the Ancients to express
themselves; only this is most certain,
that what was before inconstant in the
Fire, now is impatible therein, and what
at first in the beginning of the Work
discovered two distinct Natures, is now
one intirely and inseparably.

Page 295
Therefore like as the Woman hath veins fifteen,
And the Man but five to the act of their fe∣cundity,
Required in our Conjunction first I mean,
So must the Man his Son have of his Water three,
And nine his Wife, which three to him must be:
Then like with like shall joy have for to dwell.
More of Conjunction me needeth not to tell.
OUr Stone is as it is called Microcosmos,
which name unless to our Stone,
hath been only appropriated unto Man;
so is there in the Generation of our
Stone, much that may answer to the Ge∣neration
of Man: for as Anatomists do
allow the Woman fifteen veins conducing
to the act of Venery and Procreation,
and the Man from whom comes the Male
Sperm but five; so our Stone in his first
Composition requires three parts of the
Water or Feminine Sperm, to one of
Sulphur or the Male: so the Artist de∣cocting,
and Nature perfecting, the Ma∣stery
Page 296

will be accomplished with the bles∣sing
of God.

Remember now that the more thy
Water is, the more ought to be thy In∣ternal
Fire to dry it up; so then when
thou shalt make the proportion of Water
to the Sun three to one, remember that
thy number of Eagles, which is the pro∣portion
of thy Mercury, ought to be nine,
or at most ten.

This is the highest Acuation of the
Water, which is best for such a propor∣tion;
as for seven Eagles, two to one is
a very good proportion, so hast thou pro∣portionably
three Eagles to every one of
the Water which is added to the Body.
Some are so acute as to say, that with
four Eagles well cleansed, the Work may
be performed, and then the proportion
must be as three of the Water to two of
the Body, but the decoction must needs
be longer. I never yet tryed it, know∣ing
the forenamed proportions will do
far better, and nine months time is a
sufficient waiting for a Philosopher. Any
shorter way is and would be acceptable,
but more tedious are very unaccepta∣ble,
Page 297

since they shew nothing more than
quicker ways, but protract the time of
Putrefaction; for from that time the Fire
of Nature is at work, and then every
pondus hath the same period, provided
the Fire be accordingly, and the Matter
in the Glass not much over the other, for
one ounce or two will be far sooner
accomplished, than five or six ounces;
therefore we advise all rather to content
themselves with one ounce, or two at
most: if an ounce succeed, you can wish
no more.

This Chapter I will conclude right soon therefore,
Gross Conjunction charging thee to make but one,
For seldom have Strumpets Children ybore,
And so shalt thou never come by our Stone,
Without thou let the Woman lig alone;
That after she have once conceived by the Man,
Her Matrix be shut up from all other than.
I Shall soon draw to an end concerning
this subject, for I trow that thou under∣standest
Page 298

it fully; take heed then to my
Doctrine, mix thy Water with thy Body
in a due quantity, and grind them to∣gether
diligently, and when thou hast
mixed them, shut them up in thy Glass
carefully, and there let them stand till
compleat perfection.

And after thou hast mixed them, and
set them to heat, be sure thou stir them
not, much less open them, or add any
thing to them, or take ought from them,
whatever any Author do seem to advise:
For if thou do contrary to this my Do∣ctrine,
thou dost run an extreme hazard
of losing all; for as it is with Harlots,
who lying with many men, conceive
rarely of any: so if thou joyn crude Mer∣cury
after thy first Conjunction, I will not
say that it is impossible, but very unlike∣ly
that ever thou shalt attain our Ma∣stery:
And what I say of putting in fresh
Mercury, is to be understood of the Body
also, for if thou shalt add fresh of that,
thou wilt destroy all; for after thou set∣test
them to the Fire, thou must expect
Conception, that is, that the Mercury by
ascending and descending will extract
Page 299

part of the seminal virtue out of the
reins of the Sun, which when she hath
done, there then stands a relation be∣tween
the Sun and that Mercury, as be∣tween
Husband and Wife. Now other
Mercury, or other Sol are not as yet so
related, and therefore they are as a third
person, which Love abhors. Therefore
mix thy Matters so judiciously at first,
that thou need not afterwards to wish for
any new addition, and close your Vessel
well, and decoct it carefully.

For such as evermore add crude to crude,
Opening their Vessel, letting their Matters keel,
The Sperm conceived they nourish not, but delude
Themselves, and spill their Work each deal;
If therefore thou have list to do weel,
Close up thy Matrix, and nourish thy Seed
With heat continual and temperate, if thou wilt speed.
THey who shall do otherwise, as they
discover themselves to be too impa∣tient,
so they certainly will destroy their
Page 300

Operations. For were it no other da∣mage
then this, that they cool their Seed,
it is an irreparable errour; but over and
besides, the crude Air, will they, nill they,
will get in, and being as it is a great ene∣my
to Generation, it destroys the germi∣native
and living virtue.

Then instead of getting profit, they
reap certain loss; and instead of attain∣ing
truth, they get a delusion: for no
man that understands himself would do
it, but he that would open a womans
Womb that is conceived, to make her
bring forth sooner, or crack an Egg he
would set under a Hen, to make it hatch
more speedily.

Therefore as I advised before, so I do
now, and shall make it the •piphonema
of this discourse; mix thy Seeds, and
elaborate them with what pains thou
canst, then shut them in a house of Glass,
that is to say, an ounce in a Glass that
would •old about 16 ounces, or 20, or
two ounces in a Glass that would hold
two ounces or thereabouts of Water di∣stilled;
set thy Glass in thy Nest, about a
4th part of it in Sand, which must be sisted
Page 301

from Stones. Let the Neck be fastned
either with a Wyre, or set into a hole
which may be in the Cover of thy Nest,
the Neck about 6 inches long, or longer
a little. Let thy Athanor be so that thou
mayst give in it what heat thou pleasest,
and keep it about a day, or 16 or 12
hours at least, without renewing, and yet
no sensible alteration in heat.

In this Furnace thou shalt give thy
Matter such a Fire, as may within the first
day or two cause it to boyl, like to a
Pot over the Fire, or as the stormy Sea
swelleth in a mighty Wind; from the sur∣face
of which there will exhale a Vapour
which we call the Winds, which are in
the belly or womb in the forming of our
Embrio, which will condense at the top,
(the Glass being strong) and run down
in drops, and this continually night and
day without ceasing. Thus is verified
the saying of the Philosopher, that our
Stone retaineth life, and is perfected,
that is, divided and united, and at last
fixt and congealed, by continual boyl∣ing
and subliming. Thus are thy Waters
divided, the uppermost part carry aloft
Page 302

the Soul with them, and the lowermost
boyl and tear and soften the Body, and
make it more fit for the returning Spirit
and Soul to work on, in their continual
descending.

And when thy Vessel hath stood by months five,
And Clouds and Eclipses passed each one,
The light appearing increase thy heat, then believe,
Ʋntil bright and shining in whiteness be thy Stone.
Then mayst thou open thy Glass anon,
And feed thy Child which is ybore,
With Milk and Meat aye more and more.
THus shalt thou keep them for the
space of 150 days, in which time
thou shalt see a gallant Game played, the
Earth shall be overflown with Waters,
the two great Lights eclipsed, the Hea∣vens
be clouded, the Air darkned, and
all things in disorder and confusion; then
shall the Earth be turned into a Limus,
and the Water by decoction continual
shall be dryed up, and by moderate
Page 303

showrs and dews shall be moistned, and
by continual washing shall be cleansed;
then through the good pleasure of God
the day-light shall spring forth, and what
was before dark, shall now become clear,
and what was black of the blackest, shall
now be made very white.

This when thou shalt see, rejoyce, for
our King is now coming from the East
triumphing, he hath conquered death,
and now is made immortal; strengthen
then your Fire a little, prudently and
with discretion continue it till such
time as your Stone become white, and
very clear and bright, sparkling like
to a Sword new slipped, and by dri∣ness
be reduced into a Powder impal∣pable.

Now art thou come to the end of the
white, and thou hast a Stone perfect;
though this be but of small virtue, yet
thou mayst now take it out, and use it
either by Fermentation, or Cibation, or
Imbibition, or Multiplication, and make
it fit for projection: so that if thou hast
but an ounce, thou mayst soon have a
thousand.

Page 304
For now both moist and dry is so contem∣perate,
That of the Water Earth hath received im∣pression,
Which never after that asunder may be se∣parate,
And right so Water to the Earth hath given ingression,
That both together to dwell have made pro∣fession;
And Water of the Earth hath purchased a retentive,
They four made one never more to strive.
NOw thou hast an intimate union be∣tween
the moist and the dry, that
one is passed into another, and of two
there is a third made, which is a Neuter
from both, and yet partakes of both;
and these two Natures that did seem so
opposite, are now conspired together to
make one substance incorruptible.

For the Water which is a Spirit, hath
given such an impression to the Earth,
that it which was corporal and dry, and
uncapable of communicating Tincture,
Page 305

is by it become penetrative, so that it
can in the very twinkling of an eye pass
to the very Centre, upon an imperfect
Metal on which it is project, as I have
oft with an unspeakable content ob∣served.

For it is not in our union of this Sul∣phur
to its Mercury, as it is with the union
of Water to Earth, though we make such
comparisons; for though we call our Sul∣phur
Earth, and our Mercury Water, yet
our Mercury will not in the Examen of
the Fire flow away as Water will ex∣hale
from Loam, how exquisitely soever
it be contempered with it.

So then our Body which by our Art is
renewed, is advanced into the order of
Spirits, or Bodies glorified, which though
they have Bodies, yet they are not sub∣ject
to those Laws of gross corporeity,
which is in Bodies not regenerate: there∣fore
our Stone is a System of Wonders,
ponderous, fixt, and exquisitely compact,
and yet as penetrative as hot Oyl is into
soaking Paper.

So that it is not now as it was at first
beginning of Operation, when the one
Page 306

was above, the other below, compared
to two Dragons or Birds, the one winged,
the other without wings; but now both
are capable to resist the Fire in its ut∣most
fury.

Now hath the Water received a fer∣mental
impression from the Earth or Sul∣phur,
so that it is now made Sulphur with
Sulphur, as the other is made by the Wa∣ter
life with life.

This is the highest perfection which
any sublunary Body can be brought to,
by which we know that God is one, for
God is perfection; to which when ever
any creature arrives, in its kind it rejoy∣ceth
in unity, in which is no division or
alterity, but peace and rest without con∣tention.

Thus in two things all our intents do hing,
In moist and dry, which be contraries two;
In dry, that it the moist to fixing bring;
In moist, that it give Liquefaction to the Earth also.
WHatever then we seem to say or write
to the contrary, all our intentional
Page 307

Secret consists only in two things; what∣ever
we seem to advise more, is but only
to intangle the unwary.

Our first Secret is to know, our true
Sulphur, which many do allego•ize to all
the absurdities in the World: This is
Gold, which is to be bought pure almost
in any place.

The next is to know our Mercury,
which is not common, but artificial,
drawn from three heads by the media∣tion
of one thing, which makes the two
which are dry and Sulphurous, to unite
with one which is moist and Mercurial.
These are different in their qualities,
which difference our decoction so recon∣ciles,
as to make of them sweet Harmony.
For the Sulphur in whose increase of vir∣tue
consists our final intent, it doth give
consistence to the Water, yet so as that
it doth not part with it from it self, but
with its Fermentative virtue it doth so
infuse it, that of a moist Spirit tender and
volatile, it becomes a fixt dry Fire-abi∣ding
substance.

But first of all the Water doth mollifie
the Body, and soak into it, and search
Page 308

out its profundity; for the Sun teyneth
not, till it teyned be, for hard and dry
Bodies cannot enter so as to transmute,
till such time as themselves be first Radi∣cally
entred, and changed from colour
to colour, till they come to perfection;
then it is fluid and penetrative, for it will
enter to the root of the imperfect, and
cause it to lose its imperfection, and be∣come
perfect, flowing upon it like Wax
when it is heated by the Fire.

Then of them thus a temperament may forth go,
A temperament not so thick as the Body is,
Neither so thin as Water withouten miss.
BEtween the dry Body and the fluid
Water, we make a temperament
which is called Impastation, for it is made
like unto Paste; and Inceration, for it
brings it to the temper of Wax; but most
properly Amalgamation, or gross Con∣junction,
which is a middle consistence
between Mercury, and a Metal not so
hard as the one, for it may with a Knife
or ones Finger be spread to and fro easi∣ly;
Page 309

nor yet is it so currant as Mercury,
for no Mercury will run out of it, though
it be inclined one way or other. I need
say no more, for there is hardly any vul∣gar
Chymist who is not acquainted with
the notion of an Amalgama, and knows
what temper that is, when it will spread
like Butter, and yet laid declining, will
let nothing run from it which is thinner
then the whole Compound; for in a thin
Amalgama, the Mercury if it be declined
will run to the declining side, like Hydro∣pical
intercutis Water. But ours is not so
thin, and yet so soft that it is easily ply∣able,
yet so that it may be rouled up in
Balls, and no quick Mercury run down or
sink to the bottom. He that can miss in
this direction, would hardly find the shi∣ning
Sun at Noon-day.

Loosing and knitting be principles two
Of this hard Science, & Poles most principal,
Howbeit that other principles be many moe, &c.
WE have done this Chapter, and to
conclude assure thee, that all our
Page 310

twelve Gates are nothing else but lock∣ing
and unlocking, shutting and open∣ing,
dissolving and congealing, volati∣zing
and fixing, making the dry soft,
and afterwards the soft dry, loosing and
binding. Learn but this, and thou shalt
be sure of the Keys of this Terrestrial Pa∣radise.

Yet because I would be more clearly
understood, I shall pass through the other
Gates of the Philosophers, that running
through their multiplicity, I may as I go
reduce them all to unity.

UPon a day as I abroad was walking,
The pleasant Fields to view,
A voice I heard in silence softly talking
Of Wonders passing new.
Whereat I starting stood like one amazed,
Not knowing what to guess;
But when I round about a while had gazed,
This terrour it grew less.
The voice I heard came from a Grove, which there
At my right hand did grow,
Which I considering, silently drew near
The cause of it to know.
Page 311
Where I did see a Lady finely dressed,
Sit sighing by a Spring,
She uttered words as if with grief oppressed,
And oft her hands would wring.
Ah me, quoth she, how is my joy departed!
Oh dismal cruel death!
Could any think the Fiend so flinty hearted,
So to bereave him breath?
I then drew near, and thought to have asswa∣ged
With pleasant words her grief:
The more I spake, the more she was enraged,
Nay she disdain'd relief.
Her face was Lilly white, with Purple spots
Ʋpon her cheeks and chin;
Her Rosie lips, her feature free from blots,
T' amaze me did begin.
Beauty most rare, quoth I, what dost thou weeping?
What Wight most vile shall dare
To wrong thee, whom the Gods have in their keeping,
Whose face is mortals snare?
Good Sir, quoth she, forbear your words of sorrow,
I live, yet living dye:
I wish my life might end before the morrow,
Ah death I fear's not nigh.
Page 312
I had a Husband dear, of comely feature,
A King of great renown;
So lovely and so loving, that in Nature
There's none may put him down.
His Constitution was so strong, he scorned
To fly from any Foe:
His Person was with grace so well adorned,
That none but him did know.
Great Phoebus he was nam'd, whose princely merit
'Tis death for to recite;
So Rich he was, the wealth he did inherit
Great honour did invite.
We walking here the pleasant Woods among,
Found this unhappy Spring,
Of which to drink for thirst my Lord did long,
Which draught his end did bring.
For stooping down, the Water with its stream
His head did make so light,
He could not rise, but dropt into the stream
To everlasting Night.
He strove to swim, but to the bottom sank,
O dismal sight to see!
Then swelling with the Water which he drank,
Himself he could not free.
Page 313
But burst, and then the Spring began to boil,
And bubbling, colour chang'd;
'Tis wonder for to see (alas the spoil!)
King dead, and Spring estrang'd
So from its former state, that what then shone
Like unto glittering Skie,
Now like a stinking Puddle reaks, that none
Can it endure: yea I
Who in it lost a Husband dear, do loath
The vapours that ascend;
I hope one Spring will be the end of both,
'Twould be a happy end.
So long she spake, until the Water seem'd
Like Ink, so black it grew;
And eke the savour erst so bad esteem'd,
Did far surpass the hew.
The Air with Clouds most dark was fill'd, that never
Such Fogs and Mists were seen,
The which a Soul from the dead Corps did sever,
Whose colour first was green,
Then yellow, mixt with blue; the fumes ascended,
Which bore the Soul on high,
Which when the Lady saw, her tears were ended,
She fainted by and by.
Page 314
Into the same Stream she did swouning drop,
And never more appear'd;
She lov'd her Husband so, she would not stop,
Like one of death afear'd,
And straightway she of vital breath de∣priv'd,
Was of a Lady fair
A Carcass made, thus both in love who liv'd,
Alike in death did share.
Their Souls disjoyned from their Bodies ho∣v'ring
Ʋpon the Fountain plaid,
Expecting if their Carcasses recovering,
Might have their lives repaid.
The Sun in Solstice stood, whose heat did dry
The Waters more and more;
And eke beneath a Central heat did fry,
And sent up vapours store.
Which still return'd, so long till they were chang'd
The greater part to dust;
The wandring Souls which long had been estrang'd,
Were now allur'd with lust
Of their own Bodies, in whose Atoms lay
A strange Magnetick force;
They also though long banish'd, day by day
Awaited the dead Coarse.
Page 315
For Souls united were Bodies combin'd,
And both to each ally'd
So nearly, that no sooner they can find
A way, but they are ty'd
With knot inviolable, that no power,
How strong it may appear,
Can part them any more, even from the hour
They thus united were.
Thus two one Body have, of double Sex,
Which doth no sooner live,
But is impregnated; this doth perplex
Their foes, who fain would drive
This tender off-spring to despair: but God
Him safely ever keeps
From all Invasion, nor permits the rod
Of them to make him weep.
And though his Garments and his Skin be foul
With blackness and with stink,
He shall be purged, for both Spirit and Soul
Are clean, whate're men think.
A River springs amidst a Garden fair,
With Flowers many deck•,
Whose drops are Crystal like, these into Air
By Central heat are checkt.
Page 316
This Air condenses like Pearl Orient,
Which on this Body falls,
Whose lustre on its blackness being spent,
To brightness it recalls.
And both together make a Crystal Spring,
Whose Streams most strangely shine;
These after are condens'd, and with them bring
Treasures of Silver fine.
These Treasures if to rest untoucht a while
Ʋpon the Fire are left,
The stealing Azure will the white beguile,
And both will be bereft
Of Being by the Vert, which long will dure;
The Citrine will succeed,
Which will abide full long, but then be sure
To see the sparkling red.
Then is the King who formerly was drown'd,
Become the whole Earths wonder;
His Wife and he are one, and both abound
With wealth; nor they asunder
Will ever more depart: now all their Foes
Must their dominion know;
Who will not stoop, shall surely feel their blows,
For all are him below.
Page 317
His Brethren all who formerly were held
As Slaves in prison fast,
Are now set free; their Enemies which swell'd
With pride, full low were cast.
Thus by his death, the King hath now ob∣tain'd
That Glory which before
He never had; his former state's disdain'd,
His Wife now weeps no more.
She's one with him, his former Kingdom he
Ʋnto his Brethren gives;
The worst of them doth now those Fortunes see,
That each in plenty lives.
And what their Brother was before his death,
That they are now become,
For he their sickness cures with his breath,
And makes them live at home.
No more in bondage, bonds no place can find,
All liberty enjoy;
There's nothing here can hurt, for all one mind
Have: all that would destroy
Is banish'd from the Kingly Palace, where
The Streets with Gold are pav'd;
The Walls are Silver fine, the Gates most clear
Intire Gems, engrav'd
Page 318
With wondrous Art; the Windows glass most pure,
Which falls nor knocks can break;
The Drink from fear of venom still is sure,
Whoso virtue none can speak.
Whose comes there, is at a place arriv'd
Where neither want, nor death,
Nor any grief is known; a place contriv'd
For Saints therein to breath.
Whom God shall choose, and to his Palace bring,
What need he more desire
Then God himself, that he may praises sing,
Kindled with holy fire?
But he whose hands unclean, and heart de∣fil'd,
These Mysteries forbear,
For you th' are not; cease timely, for y' are wild
T' have neither wit nor fear.

AN EXPOSITION UPON THE Fifth Gate, Which is PUTREFACTION.

Page 321
The Fifth Gate Opened, Which is PUTREFACTION.
Now we begin the Chapter of Putrefaction,
Without which Pole no Seed can multiply,
Which must be done only by continual action
Of heat in the Body, moist not manually;
For Bodies else may not be altered naturally.
WE have already run through
four Gates, the first being
opened, the rest stand open
at will; so that thou hast need only to
enter. The course and method of Philo∣sophers
now doth lead us to the Gate of
Putrefaction, a horrible Gate, whose
entrance is dark with Cimmerian night,
dreadful with many windings and turn∣ings.

And yet it is a Gate so necessary, that
unless you pass through it, you may ne∣ver
expect to reap fruit from your la∣bour;
Page 322

for without it can be no Life nor
Generation, much less desired Multiplica∣tion:
therefore saith the Poet,

Happy are as many as they can have.
The cause of this death, or corruption
or rottenness, proceeds from the action
of continual heat, not so much of the
external Fire of the Athanor, as of the
Compound within it self; in which the
Fire of the Water which is against Na∣ture,
doth open the perfect Body by con∣tinual
contrition and decoction, and so
lets loose its Sulphur that was incarcerate,
which is Fire of Nature, that so between
these two in continual action and passi∣on,
together with the external heat con∣tinually
acting, the whole Compound is
brought to corruption, being sometimes
roasted with external heat, which doth
sublime the moisture, which again of its
own accord returns continually, and
doth moisten the Earth so long, until by
reason of the heat it have drunk up the
moisture wholly, and then it dyes.

And unless thou see this sign, of rot∣ting
of thy Compound, which is done
Page 323

in a black colour, a stinking odour, and
with a discontinuity of parts, thy labour
will still be in vain; for thou mayst ne∣ver
expect what thou desirest, to have a
new form brought in, till the old form
be corrupted and put off.

Sith Christ doth witness, without the Grain of Wheat
Dye in the Ground, increase thou mayst none get.
And in likewise without the Matter putrefie,
It may in no wise truly be alterate,
Neither thy Elements may be divided kindly,
Nor the Conjunction of them perfectly cele∣brate:
That therefore thy labour be not frustrate,
The privity of our putrefying well under∣stand,
Or ever thou take this Work in hand.
THis is so constant to Natures constant
proceedings, that the painful Hus∣bandman,
that he may have an increased
Harvest, commits his precious Seed to
the Ground, in it to rot, and to be cor∣rupted,
Page 324

that so a new Life may spring
from the old dead Body; nor doth he
ever expect increase, so long as it remains
in his Garner.

Right so we, so long as our Material
principles continue in their own nature
and form, they are but of a single value,
for Gold and Mercury are two such prin∣ciples,
that they will for ever delude as
many as proceed to work on them in a
Sophistical way; for whatever the Artist
may think, they will remain the same
unto the end of the World, unless pure
Sol being mixed with its own pure and
appropriated Mercury, and set in a due
heat of digestion, there arise a mutual
action and passion between them, which
without the laying on of the Artists
hands, will tend to a new Generation.
For in a convenient Fire, in which the
Compound may perpetually and unces∣santly
boyl, and the subtle parts may
ascend and circulate upon the gross with∣out
intermission, the most digested Vir∣tue
or Soul of the fixed Body, (which is
his basis of Tincture) will be extracted
by the Water, and this will mix it self
Page 325

with the pure Spirit of the Water, and
with this it will ascend and return, until
a total separation be made of the pure
from the impure, and the subtle from
the gross.

Then shall the Body draw down its
Soul again, and by the power of the most
High it shall be united, and with it the
Spirit of life shall be joyned also, so that
all three shall become one with an union
indissolvable; but all this pre-supposeth
a Putrefaction, or Corruption of one
form, else cannot there be an Introducti∣on
of another.

Therefore since this mystery of Putre∣faction
is not more secret then necessa∣ry,
so necessary that without it there is
nothing can be done to purpose, that is
to say, with profit; I shall be a little
plain and full in the prosecution of this
mystery: For in the knowledge of this
consists all that is required to make a
Philosopher. All the intentions of the
Artist, must be only so to prepare and
order things, that he may be sure of this
terminus; and when he is there come, he
is as sure a Master as if he had the Stone
Page 326

in his Cabinet. By the failing of this sign,
the Operator is always to turn either
backward to seek out some other prin∣ciples,
or forward, or to the right hand,
or to the left; but when he is Master of
this, he then can fail in nothing but in the
Regimen of the outward heat.

And Putrefaction may thus defined be,
After Philosophers definition to be of Bo∣dies the slaying,
And in our Compound a division of things three,
The killed Bodies into Corruption forth lea∣ding,
And after unto Regeneration them ableing;
For things being in the Earth, without doubt
Be engendred of Rotation of the Heavens about.
THe definition that the Philosophers
give of this Operation, is perpetually
Allegorical, for this Gate they have
named by all Metaphors almost in the
World, especially from death, and dead
men: therefore they allegorize the Vessel
in this station, to Grave, or Tomb, and
Page 327

emblematically discover this Operation
by the types of Skuls, dead Bones, and
rotten Carcasses; according to which
Metaphors they call Putrefaction, the
death of the Compound.

For when they saw the Body with the
Water to melt in the Fire, to flow and
to boyl, they called this Magnesia; when
they saw the Water partly to ascend, and
partly to descend, and partly to remain
below, so that at once there was both a
Sublimation in vapour, and a Motion of
what was below, they said that it was
the Spirit of the Water that ascended,
or more Airy part; and the more Fiery
part, which rejoyceth most to be united
to, and hidden in Earth, remained be∣low,
for that was more capable of the
Fire, and did better agree with it, as with
its like: which because it did so unces∣santly
swell and boyl, and rage at the
bottom, and make the Body begin to
change its colour, they said it was Fire
against Nature. Again, when they saw
the ascending Vapour to change colour,
they said it was the Soul of the Bodies
was mixed with the Spirit, which because
Page 328

it was green, they said it was a vegetative
Soul, and Fire of Nature.

Now when the Body below began to
thicken, they said this was an Herma∣phroditical
Body, because part of the
Water always remained below, and made
the Body to boyl, and bubble, and flow;
and therefore this they called a new
Body compounded of two Bodies, the
Sun and the Moon, the Man and the
Wife, which because it grew to a slimy
consistence, they named it Limus, or
Limbus, Hyle, and a Chaos, or Terra
Adamica.

When this Body began to grow very
black, and to send up foul Exhalations,
yellowish, blewish, and black, they said
this was Death and Corruption, which
followed the separation of the Soul from
the Body.

Now when they see the Souls to be
again united, and to remain below toge∣ther,
they knew that the Soul and Spirit
were Immortal, that is, the Tincture or
Vital Balsam was Incorruptible; and be∣cause
they see them again unite, they
knew the Soul and Spirit would renew
Page 329

the Bodies, and this seeming Corrupti∣on,
was but the natural step to a glori∣ous
Regeneration; for if the Souls be
again united to the Bodies, they will
surely regenerate them, and renew them,
and make them incorruptible; for if the
Spirits had not returned to this union,
they might only have expected the Ex∣halation
of them: for Spiritual Tinctures
or Essences, cannot be destroyed by cor∣ruption
in many Vegetals, much less in
the most perfect of Minerals and Metals.
The union then of the Souls with the Bo∣dies,
argues evidently a hidden purity,
under the apparent rottenness, which will
after Purification be exalted to transcen∣dent
Glory.

Hereupon they said, that the Spirit
and Soul which were above, were the
Heavenly Quintessence, and the Body
below was the Earth; and this Circula∣tion
of Spirits, were but as the Circu∣lation
of the Heavens round about the
Earth; and the falling drops, were but as
the influential dew, which did cause the
Earth to fructifie; and the blackness and
darkness, were but the Winter Latitude,
Page 330

which with its Clouds and droppings do
mellow and fertilize the Earth, to shoot
forth with the more beautiful varieties in
the Spring••▪

And therefore like as I have said before,
Thine Elements commixt and wisely co∣equate,
Thou keep in temperate heat, eschewing ever∣more
That they by violent heat be not incinerate,
To powder dry unprofitably Rubificate:
But into powder black as the Crows Bill,
With heat of our Bath, or else of our Dunghill.
FOr this cause they looked upon this as
a secret, mysterious, yet very natural
Operation, whereby the most solid and
perfect Minerals, are by Nature so applied
one to another, and cultivated, that the
very Earth or Ground should be found,
in which this noble Tree of the Hesperi∣des
may be planted and grow; the Ma∣trix
or Womb should be prepared, in
which this noble Off-spring may again
enter, and be born again.

Page 331

Therefore what by long Experience,
and profound Meditation, Philosophers
have found out and seen, that also they
committed and communicated unto us;
so that we also are made fellow Heirs of
this great Treasure, and we shall as faith∣fully
communicate our knowledge for
thy Instruction. First then, take thy Body
which is Gold, and thy Water which is
Mercury, the one ready made by Nature
to thy hand, the other thou must Pre∣pare,
for it is not to be found in the
Land of the Living, but must be made;
Nature here is at a non-plus, and so is
Art, taken asunder, but both together
effect it.

Mix these together in due proportion,
so as I have often told thee; then set
them to the Fire to decoct, and give
them a convenient heat, in which they
may boyl, ascend and descend perpe∣tually,
without any intermission night
or day.

But especially and before all things be
careful in your Internal heat, to wit, the
proportion of your Water for your Sul∣phur;
that you must add and supply to
Page 332

it in the beginning of your Work, in its
Preparation, is that which doth perform
all the work within, without which your
External heat is of no value, for it is of it
self uneffectual.

If then thou accend this heat so much
as that it predominate, it will not then
dissolve the Bodies, as thou expectest,
but contrarywise burn the Flowers be∣fore
they are extracted from the depth
of their Marrow: this thou mayst easily
do, either if thy Arsnick be not made as
it ought, or else the number of Eagles
exceeded, or the proportion of thy
Water to thy Body not agreeing to the
number of Eagles, or thy Glass not well
proportioned to thy Matter; it will easi∣ly
burn, if thy Glass be too big, for so
the moisture will so much be dispersed
about the Concave, that it will not re∣turn
before the Earth below be left too
dry. I have given Rules easily to avoid
all these inconveniences.

And on the other hand, be sure that
thou do not erre in too little heat; let
thy Water have Fire enough within it,
to make a true division and corruption,
Page 333

which if either thy Arsnick have not suf∣ficient
Fiery virtue, or if the union of
this and thy Water be not well attended,
but slightly performed, or the Purgation
of thy Water be not throughly made
each Eagle, for so two or three Eagles
may not add the virtue of one, or if thy
number of Eagles be not just, or thy
proportion of quantity be not duly ob∣served.

Therefore follow my advice, and be
careful in both these particulars, and
then let your External heat be so that
your Compound may boyl and sublime,
which for its similitude is called a Bal∣neum,
so long till the Vapours cease, and
are retained within; then will the Com∣pound
rot, which for its great likeness is
called our Dunghill.

Ʋntil the time that Nights be passed ninety,
In moist heat keep them for any thing,
Soon after by blackness thou shalt espy,
That they draw fast to putrefying.
FIrst then, our Operations begin in hu∣mido,
for in the beginning moisture it
Page 334

prevails, and is called the Phlegmatick
Constitution of our Embrio; and this is
called the Reign of the Woman, which
(according to Flammel) seeks to get the
Domination for many months, that is to
say, for three months or thereabouts,
which according to our Author is ninety
days and nights, to whom many other
Authors agree. This time may be longer
or shorter, according to the better or
worse preparation of the Matter, and the
Regimen of the Fire.

But when thou hast set thy Glass once,
in the first place be sure that thou give
a due, yet temperate heat; govern it so
as that between the Waters above, and
the Flouds beneath, the Earth may li∣quefie;
then continue your decoction,
and the Vessel shall be beclouded, and
thy Compound shall with constant Cir∣culation
become black.

This colour shall be a sign unto you
that you have not run your course in
vain; this is the first Gate, into which
and through which you must enter; now
know for certain that thy Seeds begin to
rot and engender. In this Putrefaction
Page 335

there is life, for this Operation is nothing
else but an extracting of Natures from
their profundity or root; this is that
which will make thy fixt Body to become
a volatile Spirit, for Putrefaction doth
loose the bands of all the Elements.

Which after many colours thou mayst bring
To perfect whiteness, by patience easily,
And so the Seed in his nature shall mul∣tiply.
SO soon then as thou shalt have black∣ness
compleat, know for certain that
in this blackness whiteness is really hid∣den,
so really as a living Plant in its Seed.
But before thou attain to this white∣ness,
thou mayst have patience, and pass
through many middle changable colours,
which will be no small chearing to the
Work-man, who must wait with a great
deal of Longanimity until the Earth and
Heaven be united.

Then shall thy Elements perfectly ac∣cord,
and one colour shall cover thy
new-married Soul and Body, and that
will be like to the most pure Lilly, or
Page 336

sublimed Salt, sparkling like to a new-slipped
Sword in the Sun beams.

In this whiteness is the Multiplicative
virtue exalted, and made apparent in its
first degree; by this white Soul thou
mayst turn either Mercury, or Saturn, or
Jupiter, or Venus, or Mars, into most
pure refined Silver, in a short time, and
that not Sophistically, to apparency, but
in reality, inwardly and outwardly to
abide all Essays.

Make each the other to hal•e and kiss,
And like as Children play them up and down,
And when their Shirts are filled with Piss,
Then let the Woman to wash be bown,
Which oft for faintness will fall in a swo••,
And die at last with her Children all,
And go to Purgatory to wash their filth Original.
BUt in thy first Operation, as is said
before, first look for blackness, which
will appear in the first Regimen by con∣tinual
decoction, which blackness shall
be an Indicium to you that your two
Page 337

Natures do begin now to imbrace and
kiss one another.

For so soon as they feel the Fire, they
flow together within the Vessel, and
boyl by continuance of decoction visi∣bly,
and the tender Nature not enduring
the heat, flyeth aloft, and being inclosed
so that it cannot get out, it congeals in
drops in the head of the Vessel, and
about the sides, and again returns to its
Body, which may well be called Chil∣drens
play, running round as it were in
a Circular motion: This play continues
so long, till the Water begins to leave its
thicker parts, with the thicker parts of
the Body, which in the bottom of the
Vessel is called Ʋrina puerorum; and the
thinner parts of the Water, mixed with
the thinner parts of the Body, which is
dissolved in it, flies still and circulates
until it have made a more full dissolution
of the Body, which here by the odour
of its Sulphur doth penetrate the Spirit
and Soul, and makes them faint at last,
and remain as it were breathless in the
bottom of the Glass.

Then shall the Body be destroyed, and
Page 338

both the Water and it rot into small
Atoms, which will lie without motion,
growing every day more and more black,
until at length Cimmerian darkness cover
the whole Sky.

This is called the North Latitude of
our Stone, and it is Winter, cold and
dirty; here are the Elements brought to
rest for a time, until a Generation be
made in the bottom of the Glass, when
through the will and power of God, a
clean thing shall be brought out of this
uncleanness and black venenosity.

When they be there, by little & little increase
Their pains with heat aye more and more,
The Fire from them let never cease,
And see that thy Furnace be surely apt there∣fore,
Which wise men call an Athanor:
Concerning heat required most temperately,
By which thy Matter doth kindly putrefie.
NOw thy Bath will begin to be a little
more heated and stirred up, to wash
this young King, which though noble,
is yet conceived in a Stable; for at this
time thou hast the Sulphur of thy dissol∣ved
Page 339

Body let loose, which mixing with
the Sulphur of the Water, doth acuate it
exceedingly; the one being a natural,
the other a Fire against Nature, both to∣gether
make an unnatural Fire, burning
like to the Fire of Hell, comparable to
nothing but the Alcahest.

Nor must thou think that this increase
of Fire consists in the blowing of the
Coal, no verily, it is a more subtle in∣ternal
Fire that we have, and yet that
also must be kept constant, and in due
order.

For this cause see that thy Furnace be
trusty, else thou mayst and wilt fail; for
though the Fire of Coals do not effect
any thing, yet it excites, and the Water
though it be of a wonderfull nature, yet
it acts no farther then it is stirred up, and
intermission in this Work when it is once
begun, will in the end prove fatal ex∣tinction.

Therefore the Wise men have named
the Furnace in which they work their
Secrets, an Athanor, that is, Immortal,
shewing that from the beginning to the
end the Fire must not go out, for the
Page 340

extinction of it destroys the Work; and
as death includes all sicknesses, which are
steps to it, so an Immortal Furnace or
Athanor, must not only preserve the Fire
from going out, but also from exorbi∣tancy
either on one hand or other; for
whatever swerves from the temperate
mean, hinders the kind operation of the
Matter, which is Putrefaction, by which
means the Work is notably retarded and
weakned, and by continuance of any ex∣tremity
it will be destroyed, but with its
due heat it doth putrefie kindly.

Of this principle speaketh sapient Guido,
And saith by rotting dyeth the Compound corporal,
And then after Morien and others moe,
Ʋp riseth again regenerate, simple and spi∣ritual.
And were not heat and moisture continual,
Sperm in the Womb might have none abi∣ding,
And so there should no fruit thereof up spring.
THis according to the intention of all
Philosophers, Guido, Turba, Arnal∣dus,
Page 341

and others, but especially noble Tre∣visan,
whom I chiefly honour; so Flam∣mel,
Artephius, Morien, and all Philoso∣phers
testifie thus much, namely, that the
heat must be so adequated to the Com∣pound,
as that in it the Body, through
the Pontick virtue of the Water, may
have its Sulphur let loose, and so these
two Sulphurs mixing together, may
bring the whole to rotting or Putre∣faction.

By which putridness a Ferment is en∣gendred,
which as it doth volatize all
things naturally, so it doth quicken this
gross dead Body, in so much that it
mounts aloft upon the Fire with the
Water, and riseth a new glorious Body
mixed with the Water, so that both be∣ing
become one together, the Spirit bor∣rows
from the Body permanency, and
the Body from the Spirit obtaineth pe∣netrativeness,
so that both make one coe∣lestial
and terrestrial Compound, named
the Regenerate Body and Stone of Pa∣radise
incombustible. All which is occa∣sioned
by the continuance and not fail∣ing
of heat, both inwardly and outward∣ly,
Page 342

by which the moisture is circulated
and depurated, without which the semi∣nal
virtue would be extinct, which only
vegetates by heat and moisture.

And if once the seminal virtue were
kill'd, the remaining Compound would
be no better then a dead unprofitable
thing, which could never be recovered;
so that if either moisture or heat within,
or convenient heat without should fail,
there is nothing to be expected, but
according to the Poet,

They all rush in, which you have not repaired by any art.
Therefore at the beginning our Stone thou take,
And bury each in other with their Grave,
Then equal between them a marriage make,
To lig together six weeks let them have.
Their Seed conceived, kindly nourish and save,
•rom the ground of their Grave not rising the while,
Which secret point doth many one beguile.
THis then is the process of our Work;
take at the first our Stone, that is,
Page 343

the true Material principles thereof,
which are one in kind, and two in num∣ber:
mix these together in a due pro∣portion,
then shalt thou see as follows.
First, thy Feminine nature will so em∣brace
thy Masculine, as to extract from
him his Seed, that is, the most digested
virtue, so shall the Body dye, and the
Water shall intomb it.

The Water by Cohabitation shall
contract amity and friendship with the
Body, for it is nothing else but a Fe∣minine
Body of the same Stock, which
when they are united and joyned, this
is called the Marriage of Gabritius with
Beya.

Then shall the Vapours cease, and
all Exhalations shall be withheld from
ascending or descending during the
space of 40 days, or 42 at most, in
which time though thou see not the for∣mer
Circulation, rejoyce, for now the
Body begins to retain his Soul in a black
colour.

Now the Queen hath conceived the
Kingly Seed, which must be nourished
with gentle convenient Fire, till it wax
Page 344

strong, and become a puissant trium∣phant
Champion, whom no Earthly force
is able to withstand.

Thou must of necessity then let them
have this prefixed time for their soli∣tude
and retirement, in which time the
fixt and the volatile, the cold and the
moist, the hot and the dry, do learn
to agree each with other, being recon∣ciled
in this Head of the Crow, which
is the conversion of Natures into a dis∣continuous
Calx, finer then Atoms of
the Sun.

This Operation as it is the Wyld and
Labyrinth of all who seek this Art in
vain, so it is the Capo di Bona Esperanza
to as many as attain to the perfect fight
hereof; for now most of the difficulties
are passed, which they are like to meet
withall in this their Voyage to the Ori∣ental
Indies.

Page 345
This time of Conception with easie heat abide,
The blackness appearing shall tell thee when they die,
For they together like liquid Pitch that tide
Shall swell and bubble, settle and putrefie;
Shining colours therein thou shalt espy,
Like to the Rainbow, marvellous to sight,
The Water then beginneth to dry upright.
THou must then be very carefull that
thy over-heat do not now hinder
their Conjunction, for now is the main
fear of burning thy Flowers, which thou
mayst easily do, and make these Natures
become a half Red, or Orange colour, in∣stead
of the true Crows Bill.

Whereas if thy external heat be so
gentle, as not to extinguish motion, thou
shalt find that in this period thy Natures
shall both of them die together, for one is
not killed, nor dieth without the other;
which death in its approach thou shalt
discover by the appearing blackness.

And when once the Crow shall begin
to shew it self, know that thou shalt see
Page 346

a terrible day, for thou must expect to
be in the heat of the shore, and in the
storm of the inraged Sea, which now the
Winds are abated, after a long and strong
blowing of them, doth arise in waves,
raging and taking on, and raising the
filth from the very bottom, so that all
becomes like to a troubled Glass of Ink,
or melting boiling Pitch.

After this blackness, which shall en∣dure
for a long and tedious time, thou
shalt see various and glorious colours to
succeed, such as thou never hast seen;
for all the colours that the mind of Man
possibly can imagine, shall then present
themselves to view, which shall be an
evident token to thee, that the moist and
dark Dominion of the Woman doth now
begin to vanish, and instead thereof the
Man beginneth to rule, who first dryeth
up the moisture of the Woman, with
which there will vanish blackness, and
the changable colours, and after all shall
be fixed in a sparkling dry white Powder,
which is the Stone of Paradise.

Page 347
For in moist Bodies heat working tempe∣rate,
Engendreth blackness first of all, which is
Of kindly Conjunction the token assignate,
And of true putrefying; remember this,
For then perfectly to alter thou canst not miss.
And thus by the Gate of blackness thou must come in
To the light of Paradise in whiteness, if thou wilt win.
IN the beginning therefore of our
Work, through the Co-operation of
heat both internal and external, and the
moisture of the Matter concurring, our
Body gives a blackness like unto Pitch,
which for the most part happens in 40,
or at the most in 50 days.

This colour discovers plainly that the
two Natures are united, and if they are
united, they will certainly operate one
upon another, and alter and change each
other from thing to thing, and from state
to state, until all come to one Nature and
substance Regenerate, which is a new
Heavenly Body.

Page 348

But before there can be this Renova∣tion,
the Old man necessarily must be
destroyed, that is, thy first Body must
rot and be corrupted, and lose its form,
that it may have it repaid with a new
form, which is a thousand times more
noble. So then our Work is not a forced
and apparent, but a natural and radical
Operation, in which our Natures are al∣tered
perfectly, in so much that the one
and the other having fully lost what they
were before, yet without change of kind,
they become a third thing, Homogeneal
to both the former.

Thus they who sow in tears, shall reap
in joy; and he who goeth forth mour∣ning,
and carrying precious Seed, shall
return with an abundance of increase,
with their hands filled with sheaves, and
their mouths with the praises of the Lord:
thus the chosen or redeemed of the Lord
shall return with Songs, and everlasting
Joy shall be upon their heads, and sigh∣ing
and sorrows shall fly away.

Page 349
For first the Sun in his uprising obscurate
Shall be, and pass the Waters of Noah's Floud,
On Earth which were a hundred days con∣tinuate
And fifty, away ere all these Waters goed;
Right so our Waters, as Wise men under∣stood,
Shall pass, that thou with David may say,
The rivers have gone dry; bear this away.
REmember then this Chymical Maxim,
namely, that a sad cloudy morning,
begins a fair day, and a chearfull noon∣tide;
for our Work is properly to be
compared to a day, in which the morn∣ing
is dark and cloudy, so that the Sun
appears not.

After that, the Sky is over-clouded,
and the Air cold with Northerly winds,
and much Rain falls, which endures for
its season; but after that, the Sun breaks
out, and shines hotter and hotter, till all
become dry, and then at Noon-day not a
Cloud appearing, but all clear from one
end of the Heaven to the other.

Page 350

But our Waters may more fitly be
compared to Noah's Floud, or Deluge▪
then to a day-showr, by reason of their
continuance; for before our Waters shall
all be overcome, and dried up by pre∣vailing
siccity, it will be about 5 months,
in which time the Artist shall be held in
constant horrour, according as the Alle∣gory
of Arisleus hath it;

But let him not regret his face painted with soot,
He will bring these black embers to Phoebus .
Wait patiently, for thou shalt see the Day-star arising with deliverance, and these Waters shall through the command of the Almighty abate; Jupiter then shall rule, in whose reign all things shall be restored: for by constant decoction, thy Body shall have virtue to receive Tin∣cture, and to retain it, and to increase it, by which it shall be renewed, and shall by little and little digest all the moi∣sture, which then shall be unto it as nou∣rishment, Milk of Life, which we call Vir∣gins Milk.
Then shalt thou have leisure to con∣template
these wonders of the most High▪
Page 351

which if they do not ravish and astonish
thee in the beholding of them, it is be∣cause
God hath not intended this Science
to thee in Mercy, but in Judgment, to
wit, that it should be unto thee a snare
and trap, and a stumbling-block at which
thou shalt stumble and fall, and never rise
again. Remember then when once thou
shalt see the renewing of these Natures,
that with humble heart and bended
knees thou praise and extoll, and mag∣nifie
that gracious God, who hath been
nigh unto thee, and heard thee, and di∣rected
thine Operations, enlightned thy
Judgment; for certainly flesh and bloud
never taught thee this, but it was the
free gift of that God who giveth to whom
he pleaseth.

Soon after that Noah planted this Vineyard,
Which Royally flourished, and brought forth Grapes anon,
After which space thou shalt not be afeard.
NOw as the Earth when the Waters of
the Floud were abated, was as it
were renewed; even so thy Earth is
Page 352

made new, and the Rain-bow is to thee
a sign that there shall never again happen
such another Deluge, as thou hast now
passed. Thy Earth then being renewed,
behold how it is decked with an admira∣ble
green colour, which is then named
the Philosophers Vineyard.

This greenness, after the perfect white∣ness,
is to thee a token that thy Matter
hath re-attained, through the will and
power of the Almighty, a new vegeta∣tive
life: observe then how this Philoso∣phical
Vine doth seem to flower, and to
bring forth tender green Clusters; know
then that thou art now preparing for a
rich Vintage.

Thy Stone hath already passed through
many hazards, and yet the danger is not
quite over, although it be not great, for
thy former experience may now guide
thee, if rash joy do not make thee mad.

For in like wise shall follow the flourishing of our Stone.
COnsider now that thou art in process
to a new Work, and though in per∣fect
Page 353

whiteness thy Stone was incombu∣stible,
yet in continuing it on the Fire
without moving, it is now become ten∣der
again; therefore though it be not in
so great danger of Fire now as hereto∣fore,
yet immoderacy now may and will
certainly spoil all, and undo thy hopes:
Govern with prudence therefore during
the while that these colours shall come
and go, and be not either over-hasty,
nor despondent, but wait the end with
patience.

And soon that after thirty days are gone,
Thou shalt have Grapes right as Ruby red,
Which is our Adrop, our Usifur, and our red Lead.
FOr in a short time thou shalt find, that
this green will be overcome by the
Azure, and that by the pale wan colour,
which will at length come to a Citrine,
which Citrine shall endure for the space
of 46 days.

Then shall the heavenly Fire descend,
and illuminate the Earth with inconcei∣vable
Glory; the Crown of thy Labours
Page 354

shall be brought unto thee, when our
Sol shall sit in the South, shining with
redness incomparable.

This is our Tyre, our Ba•ilisk, our red
Poppy of the Rock, our Adrop, our Ʋsi∣fur,
our red Lead, our Lion devouring
all things: This is our true Light, our
Earth glorified; rejoyce now, for our
King hath passed from death to life, and
now possesseth the Keys of both Death
and Hell, and over him nothing now
hath power.

For like as Souls after pains tran•itory,
Be brought to Paradise where ever is joy∣ful life;
So shall our Stone after his darkness in Pur∣gatory,
Be purged and joyned in Elements with∣outen strife.
AS then it is with those who are Re∣deemed,
their Old man is crucified,
in which is sorrow, anguish, grief, heart-breaking,
and many tears; after that the
New man is restored, and then is joy,
shouting, clapping of hands, singing, and
Page 355

the like, for the ransomed of the Lord
shall return with Songs, and everlasting
Joy shall be on their heads: even so it
is after a sort in our Operations, for first
of all our old Body dyeth, rots, and is as
it were corrupted, yielding a most loath∣some
stink, and engendring squallid and
filthy colours, and most venomous exha∣lations,
which is as it were the Purgatory
of this old Body, in which its corruption
is overcome by a long and gentle de∣coction.

And when it once is purged, and
made clean and pure, then are the Ele∣ments
joyned, and are of four contra∣ries
made one perfect, perpetual, indis∣solvable
unity; so that from henceforth
there is nothing but concord and amity
to be found in all our habitations.

Rejoyce the whiteness and beauty of his Wife.
OUr Man then to shew his singular
love to his Wife, and to give an evi∣dent
token that they will never fall out
any more, is content to attain the first
Page 356

degree of its perfection in her colour;
so that the first stable colour of thy reno∣vate
Body, after its Eclipsation in black∣ness,
is the sparkling white, which is a
lustre hardly imaginable.

And pass from darkness of Purgatory to light
Of Paradise, in whiteness Elixir of great might.
THis is a noble step, from Hell to Hea∣ven;
from the bottom of the Grave,
to the top of Power and Glory; from
obscurity in blackness, to resplendent
whiteness; from the height of veneno∣sity,
to the height of Medicine. Oh Na∣ture!
how dost thou alter things into
things, casting down the high and
mighty, and again exalting them being
base and lowly! Oh Death! how art
thou vanquished when thy Prisoners are
taken from thee, and carried to a state
and place of Immortality! This is the
Lords doing, and it is marvellous in
our eyes.

Page 357
And that thou mayst the rather to Putre∣faction,
Win this example, thou take, &c.
The heart of an Oak which hath of Water continual infusion;
For though it in Water lay an hundred years and more,
Yet shouldest thou find it sound as ever it was before.
O Happy Gate of blackness, which art
the passage to this so glorious a
change! study therefore, whoever ap∣plyest
thy self to this Art, only to know
this Secret; for know this, and know all,
and contrarywise be ignorant of this, and
be ignorant of all.

Therefore if that possible thou mayst
attain the depth of this Mystery, I shall
endeavour to unfold it to thy capacity
by similitudes and examples.

Thou knowest that if a solid piece of
Wood lie in water perpetually, it will
tire the patience of the most patient ex∣pecter
to see it rot, for it will abide
many Generations, and in the end be as
Page 358

sound as when it was first laid in. Yea
some contend, that in our days Pine-Trees
are dug up in their intire propor∣tion,
which have been buried ever since
the Floud, being found in such places in
which no Histories ever mentioned that
such Trees grew, and so deep under
ground as it is almost incredible; which
certainly have layn at least many hun∣dred
years, and yet the Wood as sound
as any other Tree of that sort, which
hath not been cut down above a year or
two: such is the force of constant Hume-faction,
to prevent the ordinary corrup∣tion
of Timber.

But and thou keep it sometimes wet and sometimes dry,
As thou mayst see in Timber,
And so even likewise, &c.
Sometimes our Tree must with the Sun be brent.
BUt contrarywise, Timber which is
kept wet sometimes, and dry some∣times,
as usually the foundations of Tim∣ber
Houses are, if not secured by the
Page 359

Masons Art, it would tire the House∣holders
patience to see how soon such
Timber will rot, and molder away, and
become fit for nothing; which is a
thing so well known, that the expe∣rience
of every Rustick almost can teach
it him.

So resolve our Stone must be used, if
thou intend to have it putrefie kindly;
our Wheel for Putrefaction must go
round, in a constant Elevation or Ex∣traction
of the Water or Humidity from
the Body, by which Operation our Man
the Sun is helped in his acting; and this
Water must as constantly return to the
Earth, to moisten it, by which the Wo∣man
the Moon is helped in her acting.

And then with Water we must it keel,
That so to rotting we may bring it weel.
BEtween these two various Operations
which one and the same Fire pro∣duceth,
our Body is both heated and
cooled, his sweat is drawn forth and re∣turned
upon him again, by the which
means it is triturated, ground, softned,
Page 360

and made weak even unto death; and
dying, it rots and putrefies, changing
colours from one into another, until at
the length it becomes black as Ink or
Pitch, which is our Toad, our Crow, our
Tomb filled with rottenness, our Golgotha
or place of dead bones, our Terra foliata
or Earth of Leaves.

For now in wet, &c.
To be shall cause it soon to putrefie,
And so shall thou bring to rotting thy Gold,
Intreat thy Bodies, &c.
And in thy putrefying with heat be not too swift,
Lest in the Ashes thou seek after thy thrift.
OUr Operation then, saith Morien, is
nothing else but extracting Water
from the Earth, and returning it again
upon the Earth, so long and so often till
the Earth putrefie; for by elevation of
the moisture the Body is heated and
dried, and by returning it again it is
cooled and moistned, by the continua∣tion
of which successive Operations, it
is brought to corrupt and rot, to lose
Page 361

its form, and for a season to remain
as dead.

This is the true intention and manner
of our working, and there is no other
manner of working that can be invented,
that can give thee the effect of this our
Operation; for this is the true way and
means by which thy Body of Gold will
be destroyed, and no other way profita∣ble
for our Art: Proceed therefore as
I have directed thee, and swerve not
either to the right hand or to the left.
Take this Body which I have shewed
thee, and joyn it with the Spirit which is
proper to it, which the Wise men have
called their Venus, or Goddess of Love,
and circulate these two Natures one upon
the other, until the one have conceived
by the other.

But beware you urge not the Spirit
too much, but remember that he is a
volatile substance, and if he be over-provoked,
he will certainly break the
Vessel, and fly, and leave thee the ruines
of thy Glass for a recompence of thy
over-speedy rashness; which trust me
will make thee fetch a deep Philosophi∣cal
Page 362

sigh, and say when it is too late, I
would I had been content to wait Na∣tures
time. Let the Fire then be such in
which thy Spirit may be so stirred up, as
to return to its Body in the Glass, and
not so irritated as to break the Vessel, and
return to the Ashes or Sand of the Nest,
or stick about the sides of the Cover of
your Nest, or else fly about in the Room
wherein the Artist is, and lodge in his
Head, and so make it far more uncon∣stant
then it was before, by adding to his
rash giddiness a Paralytical shaking.

Therefore the Water out of the Earth thou draw,
And make the Soul therewith for to ascend,
Then down again into the Earth it throw,
That they oft-times so ascend and descend.
PRoceed therefore not as a Fool, but
as a Wise man; make the Water of
thy Compound to arise and circulate, so
long and often until the Soul, that is to
say, the most subtle virtue of the Body,
arise with it, circulating with the Spirit
in manner of a fiery form, by which both
Page 363

the Spirit and Body are enforced to
change their colour and complexion: for
it is this Soul of the dissolved Bodies,
which is the subject of Wonders; it is
the life, and therefore quickens the dead;
it is the Vegetative Soul, and therefore
it makes the dead and sealed Bodies,
which in their own Nature are barren,
to fructifie exceedingly.

Therefore if this return unto the Earth
from which it first took its flight, it will
make it for to fructifie, and to increase
in Tincture, and in the Earth it self will
multiply as a grain of Wheat doth in
the ground.

Be sure then that so fast as thou makest
thy ascension, so fast also thy descension
be; this is agreeable both to Nature, and
the intent of all Philosophers, especially
Trevisan in his Chymical Miracle; Au∣thors,
saith he, differ especially in the docu∣ments
of the Fire, but in this all agree, that
the volatile ascend not higher then it may
return. This is the true temperament of
the Fire.

Page 364
From violent heat and sudden cold defend
Thy Glass, and make thy Fire so temperate,
That by the sides the Matter be not vitri∣ficate.
TAke diligent heed then that thou ex∣ceed
not this measure, especially
have a care that your Furnace be not apt
to exceed, but that you may govern it
at your pleasure, without uncertain in∣creasing
or slacking of heat, but that
your Fire be equal and continually va∣porous
and boyling, for such a degree is
altogether agreeable to the intention of
Nature.

Whereas if thou be too hasty, with
Vulcan thou art always subject to errour;
for even then when a discreet Work-man
is past fear, I mean in the fourth Opera∣tion,
in which the Elements are fixed
and incerated, a hasty rash Vulcanist shall
make his Medicines to grow hard at the
first, and with a stronger and continuate
degree of heat, to melt into a vitrificate
substance, without any hope of future
profit.

Page 365

Now then that Vitrification is an er∣rour
which is incident in the last Opera∣tion,
as burning of the Flowers is in the
first Operation; for if in Calcination the
Fire be too violent, instead of black thou
shalt have a Citrine, or half red unpro∣fitable
Calx: so in the fourth Operation,
by too violent Fire thy Elixir will melt
being vitrified, instead of a natural flow∣ing
or Inceration.

And be thou wise in choosing of the Matter,
Meddle with no Salts, &c.
But whatsoever any Worker to thee chatter,
Our Sulphur and our Mercury been only in Metals,
Which Oyls and Waters some men them calls,
Fowls and Birds, &c.
Because that Fools should never know our Stone.
IF thou hast attended well to what hath
been told thee in these five Gates,
thou art secure; make sure of thy true
Matter, which is no small thing to know,
and though we have named it, yet we
Page 366

have done it so cunningly, that if thou
wilt be heedless, thou mayst sooner stum∣ble
at our Books, then at any thou ever
didst read in thy life.

Meddle with nothing out of kind,
whether Salts, or Sulphur, or whatever
is of the like Imposition; and whatever
is Alien from the perfect Metals, is re∣probate
in our Mastery. Be not decei∣ved
either with Receipt or Discourse,
for we verily do not intend to deceive
you, but if you will be deceived, be
deceived.

Our principal know that it is but one,
and that is in Metals, even those Metals
which you may buy commonly, to wit,
the perfectest of them: but before you
can command it out of them, you must
be a Master, and not a Scholar, namely as
it is wisely said in Norton;

To know to destroy their whole Composition,
That some of their Components may help in conclusion.
But trust me this is not for a Tyro, nor
for every one of us, unless he have the
Secret from his own studies, and not
Page 367

by Tradition from a Master or Guide.
Know then that this fore-recited way
is true, but involved with a thousand
broileries.

But our way which is an easie way,
and in which no man may erre, our
broad way, our Linear way, we have
vowed never to reveal it but in Meta∣phors;
I being moved with pity, will
hint it to you. Take that which is not
yet perfect, nor yet wholly imperfect,
but in a way to perfection, and out of
it make what is most noble and most per∣fect:
This you may conceive to be an
easier Receipt, then to take that which
is already perfect, and extract out of it
what is imperfect, and then make it per∣fect,
and after out of that perfection to
draw a plusquam perfection: and yet this
is true, and we have wrought it. And
because it is an immense Labour for any
to undertake, we describe that way; but
this last discovery which I hinted in few
words, is it which no man ever did so
plainly lay open, nor may any make it
more plain, upon pain of an Anathema.

Page 368
For of this World our Stone is called the Cement,
Which moved by craft as Nature doth re∣quire,
In his increase shall be full opulent,
And multiply his kind after thy own desire:
Therefore if God vouchsafe thee to inspire,
Like unto thee in Riches shall be but few.
OUr Stone it is the Representative of
the great World, and hath the Vir∣tues
of that great Fabrick, comprised or
collected in this little System; in it is the
virtue Magnetical, attractive of its like
in the whole World: it is the Coelestial
Virtue, expounded universally in the
whole Creation, but Epitomized in this
small Map or Abridgment.

This Virtue or Power is in it self bar∣ren,
sluggish, dead and unactive, and for
this cause it remaineth without fruit;
but being loosed by Art, it doth through
the co-operation of Nature, produce that
Arcanum which hath not its like in the
whole World; for it doth heal the im∣perfections
of all Creatures and Metals,
Page 369

taking away their sickness, and restoring
them to perfect health.

The reward which this Mastery will
bring to the Artist, is indeed inestimable;
for having it, he needs want no worldly
blessing, for wealth he need take no care,
and from all frailties of Body he hath a
most sure Antidote.

Pray then to God, that he would be
propitious unto your studies and labours,
in giving thee the true knowledge of
this secret Mystery; it is the gift of God,
I have holpen thee what I can, but ven∣ture
not to practise barely upon my
words, for know that what I have only
hinted, is far more then what I have dis∣covered;
and what I have declared to
thy first apprehension most openly, hath
yet its lurking Serpent under the green
Grass, I mean some hidden thing which
thou oughtest to understand, which thou
being Cock-sure at first blush wilt neg∣lect;
but yet it will bi•e thee by the heel
when thou approachest to practice, and
make thee begin again, and it may be at
last throw away all as a man desperate:
for know that this is an Art very Cabali∣stical,
Page 370

and we do study expressions such
as we know will suit almost with any
mans fancy, in one place or other; but
be sure to take this Maxim from one who
knows best the sence of what he hath
written: Where we speak most plainly,
there be most circumspect, for we do not
go about to betray the Secrets of Na∣ture;
especially then in those places
which seem to give Receipts so plain as
you would desire, suspect either a Me∣taphor,
or else be sure that something
or other is supprest, which thou wilt
hardly without Inspiration ever find of
thy self, which in tryal will make all
thy confident knowledge vanish; yet
to a Son of Art, we have written that
which never heretofore was by any re∣vealed.

Page 371
NOw for a close of this most secret Gate,
Whereat few enter, none but they who are
By Gods grace favour'd; its not luck ne sate
That in disclosing this can claim a share:
It is a portion which is very rare,
Bestow'd on those whom the most High shall chuse,
To such the Truth I freely shall declare,
Nor ought through Envy to them shall refuse,
Nor with unwonted Riddles shall their hopes abuse.
Of uncouth subjects now shall be my Song,
My mind intends high Wonders to reveal,
Which have lain hidden heretofore full long,
Each Artist striving them how to conceal,
Lest wretched Caitiffs should these Treasures steal:
Nor Villains should their Villanies maintain
By this rare Art; which danger they to heal,
In horrid Metaphors veil'd an Art most plain,
Lest each Fool knowing it, should it when known disdain.
Page 372
Remember Man how he produced was,
How formed from a lump of abject Clay,
From whence Created; he each thing doth pass,
Which next to Angels ever saw the day:
For God in him infus'd so bright a Ray
Of his own Image, which the Body joyn'd
To it, ennobled so that both pourtray
Their Maker, as though Heaven with Earth combin'd
A little System of the Ʋniverse to find.
But yet though he of Soul and Body both
Was made and of the two the nobler part
The Soul by far, which for the most part doth
The subject nominate; yet that same Art
That made so rare a piece, doth from the part
Less noble name the whole, Adam, or Dust,
Wherein a Mystery was couch'd, whose heart
Of life the Centre, to Earth's bowels must
Return, the Earth it self for Man's sake being curs'd.
Page 373
Right so our Stone containeth Natures two,
One hidden, subtle Soul, Heavens Pro∣geny,
The other gross, compact, terrene also,
Earth's product must to Earth by destiny;
Which when resolv'd is made a feculency
To sight, but the Coelestial part is still
(Though over-clouded) most pure in∣wardly,
And shall at last most Pearlie drops distill,
Which shall the barren Earth with fruit in plenty fill.
Thus all our Secrets from the Earth do flow,
'Tis Earth which for our Base at first we take,
Our Water also unto Earth must go,
And both together must a Limus make,
Which we with respite by our Art must bake,
Till all become a Spirit glorify'd,
Whose firmness wasting, time shall never shake;
By perfect union th' are so surely ty'd,
Each Element the other three within it self doth hide.
Page 374
Take then that thing which Gold we please to call,
But 'tis not Gold, yet Gold it is in truth;
Metalline 'tis, yet from a Mineral
It flows, which Art by Nature holp re∣new'th,
And to a Fool an ugly face it sheweth;
Yet to a Son of Art it lovely seems,
'Tis Stellar white, and tender in his youth,
And vile appears in many mens esteems,
Yea the most part of men it for a trifle deems.
From it is made a subject of great price,
Shew it the Goldsmith and he'l swear 'tis Gold;
But look you sell it not, if you be wise,
The Basis 'tis of Secrets manifold,
This for their secret main the Sages hold:
The like is in Gold digged from the Mine,
But to procure it is scarce to be told,
That you may understand, though every line
Were plainly wrote, yet might your practice oft decline.
Page 375
For 'tis a Labour hardly to be borne,
So many tricks and turnings in it be,
And he that tryeth it is surely for∣lorne,
Ʋnless a crafty Master, credit me;
For I have tryed both, yet could not see
How any in this way can be secure:
I therefore who have vowed secrecy
Have writ this way, which we can scarce endure
For knowledge-sake to try, its ease will none allure.
Our Kingly road I also hinted have,
Our way in which a Fool can hardly erre,
Our secret way, which much sad toyl will save,
Which is so easie, that I may averr,
If thou shouldst see it, thou wouldst it pre∣ferr
To any Earthly pleasure; yet beware
That you mistake not, for I do averr,
A mingled Doctrine these lines do declare,
For both ways in this Book of mine do claim a share.
Page 376
Learn to distinguish every sentence well,
And know to what Work it doth appertain;
This is great skill, which few as I can tell
By all their reading yet could ere attain,
And yet of Theory this is the main:
Also to know accordingly to give
Due heat, which in one way thou must be fain
T' increase ten-fold, thou mayst me well believe,
For what doth one decoct, t'other away will drive.
Also their Operations different
Appear, the one thou must sublime and boyl,
O tedious way! in which much time is spent,
And many errours, which the Work will spoyl:
The other silently doth make no toyl,
Like the still voice which to Eliah came,
About which Work thou needest not to broyl,
Nor wantst thou •iery Vulcan's parching flame,
A far more gentle heat begins and ends this Game.
Page 377
But if thou canst each Work perform apart,
And knowst them afterward to reconcile,
Then art thou Master of a Princely Art,
The very success will thy hopes beguile;
Thou hast all Natures Works rankt on a File,
And all her Treasures at command dost keep,
On thee the Fates shall never dare but smile,
No Mystery is now for thee too deep,
Th' art Natures Darling, whether thou dost wake or sleep.
Pardon my plainness, if the Art thou knowst,
'Twas the fruit of my untame desire
To profit many; and without a boast,
No man above my •andour shall aspire:
My zeal was kindled with Minerva's Fire,
And thou who to this Art wilt now apply,
My •ook in Natures way shall lead thee higher,
Then ever thou alone mayst hope to fly,
If only thou shalt favour'd be by Destiny.
Page 378
Peruse these lines, and being read, review
And read again, and on them meditate,
Each reading shall fresh Mysteries and new
Discover, which are scatter'd in each Gate;
For they so linked are, that all relate
To each, and we our words have woven so,
That thou mayst soon erre by misleading •ate,
Ʋnless for to distinguish thou do know;
Remember that 'mongst Briars thick, sweet Roses grow.

AN EXPOSITION UPON THE Sixth Gate, Which is CONGELATION.

Page 381
The Sixth Gate Opened, Which is CONGELATION.
Congelation, &c.
It is of soft things in duration of colour white, &c.
How to congeal he needeth not much to care for Elements:
But Congelations be made in divers wise of Spirits, &c.
Of Salts dissolved, &c. and then congeal'd,
And some dissolveth congealing manu∣ally, &c.
But such congealing is not, &c.
HAving largely run through the
first five Gates, in which is all the
difficulty, pre-supposing now that
you have passed the shades of the Night,
and are now come to the approaching of
the Day, whose dawning is to be seen
soon after the darkness of the Night,
Page 382

and is discovered by variety of gay
Clouds, which run before the Sun in its
up-rising.

The first remarkable way mark that
you are to meet with, is the whiteness of
the Compound, for the Peacocks tail
though with its gayness it refresheth and
delights the beholder, yet those colours
are but transient; but the white is a sta∣ble
colour, and it is thy first Harvest, in
which the moisture is vanquished▪ and
volatile Natures are fixed.

The Work as it is the long-wished
Haven, so it is performed without any
help of the Artist, any more then to con∣tinue
a due degree of outward heat;
for know that thou hast not so great a
desire after this sight, but Nature hath as
great an appetite to obtain it, for it is
the end of all her former Operations,
from the attaining whereof thou canst
not hinder her, if the external heat be
continued as it ought.

Yet about this the whole company of
Alchymists do mightily busie themselves,
who have nothing more in their hopes
then to make our great Elixir; do main∣ly
Page 383

labour after Congelation, though in
their Solution, in which the Key of our
Coagulation resteth, they are as stupid
as Blocks.

Some dissolve Metals with Corrosives,
others Salts, and afterwards filter them,
which they think graduates them, with
which trumpery they intend no less a
Coagulate, then the true permanent Tin∣cture:
but alas they are deceived▪ for they
work not upon the right Matter.

Others although they happen to stum∣ble
in part upon the right Matter, yet
herein they erre, that they understand
our Operations preposterously, and in∣terpret
our meaning contrary to our true
intent; for all that they dream of, is such
Operations which are to be performed by
hand: thus they dissolve and congeal,
but stumble in operandi modo.

For our Congelation is no such thing
as this, but in every point it is contrary
to it; for in our Operation Nature only
works, who therefore doth bring forth
a true, and not a Sophistical Operation.

Page 384
Our Congelation dreadeth not the Fir•,
For it must ever in it stand unctuous;
And it is also a Tincture so bounteous,
Which in the Air, &c.
Moreover congeal not, &c.
But that like Wax it will melt anon with∣outen blast,
For such congealing accordeth not, &c.
Which Congelation availeth us not.
FOr as in our Solution we do not make
our Gold volatile as to shew, as Fools
may do, but actually it is made fugitive,
so as that by no Art of man it can ever
be fixt again, but only by that Nature
which made it volatile; so also our Fixa∣tion
doth make our flying Spirits so Fire-abiding,
that they by no Art of man
can ever be burnt away, yet it will flow
like Wax.

Nor is it fixed in manner of flying
Spirits in Vegetables, which are fixed by
burning into an Al•ali, for it will never
relent neither in the Air nor Water, like
to a congealed Salt.

Nor yet is our Congelation a formal
Page 385

Transmutation of a thing by another se∣minal
virtue, for then it would become
of a Stony, Flinty, or Adamantine na∣ture;
but by its own internal virtue, the
Mercury is changed into Sulphur incom∣bustible,
yet so as that the Mercuriality
retains some of its qualities in a very no∣ble
remarkable way, furnishing the Com∣pound
with a fusible unctuosity, when at
the same time the Sulphur retains that
fluxibility with a most noble incombu∣stibility.

So then take this for the Touch-stone
of all thy Alchymical endeavours, if ever
thou intend any thing commendable in
our Art; see that thy Medicine be of an
easie fusion, so that when it is cast on a
plate of Metal heated, it may enter it,
and flow on it like Wax or melted Pitch;
yea let the flux be so easie, that it may
flow upon Mercury, and enter it before
its flight, otherwise brag not of thy skill,
for thou art yet in a way of Sophistry,
out of which thou shalt never escape,
without a more then ordinary provi∣dence
of God.

Page 386
If thou therefore list to do weel,
Sith the Medicine shall never else flow kindly,
Neither congeal without thou first it putrefie,
First purge, then fix the Elements of our Stone,
Till they together congeal and flow anon.
THat thou therefore mayst be sure of
thy Work, and not repent thy cost
and pains, as many do when it is too late,
take my counsel, and know that thy
Medicine never can nor shall flow as it
ought, except thy Solution be Philoso∣phical.

Know then that our Solution is not an
ordinary vulgar dissolving of Bodies,
either by Corrosives, or any other way;
but our true dissolving is nothing else
then putrefying, that is, a destroying of
the Compaction wholly with a preserva∣tion
of the Species. This Operation be
sure to make before thou dream of Con∣gelation,
for then thy Spirits will natu∣rally
fix and flow together, congealing
and relenting so long until they come to
Page 387

a perfect Powder impalpable, which then
hath ingress into all Metals, penetrating
their very profundity, and altering them
radically.

For when the Matter is made perfectly white,
Then, &c.
But of such time thou mayst have long re∣spite,
Ere it congeal, &c.
And after into grains red as bloud,
Richer, &c.
SO then our Congelation is nothing
else but the whitening of the Bodies,
of which the Philosopher speaketh, when
he saith, Whiten thy Body, and burn thy
Books, lest our hearts be broken.

This is the Haven at which after many
a nights watching, and days labour, thou
mayst with Gods blessing hope at length
to arrive; but in the mean season be
patient, and expect the Harvest in its
season.

First thou shalt have thy Body white∣ned,
and all become a white living Wa∣ter,
which being moved on the Fire con∣tinually,
Page 388

will turn first into greater, and
after that into smaller grains, till all at
length become a Calx of an exquisite
fineness, and transcendent brightness,
which is our Lilly Candent, which in the
end of thy Operations by continual de∣coction
will be turned into a purple red∣ness,
which is our wonderful Secret.

The Earthly grossness therefore first morti∣fied in moisture, &c.
This principle may not be denied, &c.
Which had, of whiteness thou mayst not miss, &c.
And if, &c.
THe cause of all these strange altera∣tions
in one Glass, on one subject,
with one decoction, without laying on
of hands, is from the internal disposition
of the Compound, which at the first is
gross and Earthy, therefore in decoction
it becomes very black, it being the na∣ture
of all moist gross things, by the Fire
to acquire such a colour. And this is ac∣cording
to the intention of all Philoso∣phers,
that although thou seekest white
Page 389

and red, yet thou must at first make
black, before thou canst make white pro∣fitably.

But when once thy Matter is become
truly black, rejoyce, for this death of
the Body will be the quickning of the
Spirit, and then both Soul and Body will
unite into a perfect whiteness, which is
our Kingly Diadem.

The end of the sixth Gate.

THE BOOKSELLER TO THE READER.
Reader,

IT is an Argument of a noble and gene∣rous
Soul, to be freely communicative
for the benefit of Mankind, and most
like to God himself, to be universally kind
to all; nay the very Heathen not only ac∣counted
those men as Gods, who communi∣cated
their Inventions for the benefit of
their Generation, and the good of Mankind
in general, but were worshipped as such by
the succeeding Generations, until Shilo
came: Of this Spirit was our Author, who
wrote many Books of this
Subjecta, that by the va∣riety
of expressions, and
insinuating hints, the dili∣gent
Searchers might find


out this Art as well as himself: And of
this Spirit (I hope) thou art, Gentle Rea∣der,
that if Providence have cast into thy
hands the Exposition upon the last Six
Gates, which our Author wrote, as himself
confessethb, or any other of his
Writings, I hope thou wilt not
degenerate so far from a Good
man, and from the mind of the Author
himself, as to conceal those Treasures in pri∣vate,
which he so freely wrote, and by Tran∣scripts
dispersed, with leave to communi∣cate
them for the good of all. Which if you
shall please to perform, you will thereby very
much oblige this Generation of Philoso∣phers,
(who esteem this Author's Pieces
for the learnedst, freest, and smoothest style,
without affectation, and the plainest, that
was ever yet wrote; who thirsted as it were
for a larger manifestation of this Secret,
yet durst not give a plain Receipt, for fear
of doing more evil than good thereby;)
and not only this Generation, but Posterity
will be infinitely beholden to you, that by
your means these worthy Writings may be
handed down to them. And if you shall
likewise be pleased to send any of this Au∣thor's


Pieces, either mentioned or not men∣tioned
in the Catalogue, to the Pelican in
Little-Britain, London, you shall receive
the grateful acknowledgment of,

Your humble Servant,
W. C. B.


EXPERIMENTS
FOR THE
PREPARATION
OF THE
Sophick Mercury;
By Luna, and the Antimonial-Stellate-Regulus
of Mars,
FOR THE
Philosophers Stone.

Written by Eirenaeus Philalethes, an Englishman, and a Cosmopolitan.


Page 1
EXPERIMENTS for the Preparation of the Sophick Mercury, by Luna and the Anti∣monial-Stellate-Regulus of Mars, for the Philosophers Stone.
1. The secret of the Philosophick Arsnick.
I Took one part of the Fiery Dragon,
and of the Magnetical Body two
parts, I prepared them together by
a strong Fire, and in the first fusion there
was made about eight ounces of the true
Arsnick.

2. The secret of preparing the Mercury with his Arsnick, for the separa∣ting its Faeces.
I Did take one part of the best Arsnick,
and I made a Marriage with two parts
of the Virgin Diana into one Body; I
ground it very fine, and with this I have
prepared my Mercury, working them all
Page 2

together in heat, until that they were
most exquifitely incorporated: then I
purged it with the Salt of Urine, that
the Faeces did separate, which I put
away.

3. The Purification of the Sophick Mercury.
THe Mercury thus prepared, is yet in∣fected
with an external uncleanness,
wherefore distill it three or four times
in its proper Alembick, with its Steel
Cucurbit, then wash it with the Salt of
Urine, until that it be clear and bright,
and in its motion leaves no tayl be∣hind
it.

4. Another most excellent Purgation.
TAke of decrepit Salt, and of the Sco∣ria
of Mars, of each ten ounces, of
prepared Mercury one ounce and an half,
grind the Salt and the Scorias very fine
together, in a Marble Mortar; then put
in the Mercury, and grind it with Vine∣gar,
so long until no more of the Mercury
Page 3

appears: put it into a Glass Body, and
distill it by Sand in a Glass Alembick,
until all the Mercury be ascended, pure,
clear, and splendidly bright; reiterate
this three times, and you will have the
Mercury excellently well prepared for the
Magistery.

5. The secret of the just Preparation of the Sophick Mercury.
EVery single preparation of the Mer∣cury
with its Arsnick is one Eagle,
the Feathers of the Eagle being purged
from their Crow-like blackness, make it
to fly the seventh flight, and it is prepa∣red
even until the tenth flight.

6. The secret of the Sophick Mercury.
I Have taken the proper quantity of the
Mercury, and I mixed it with its true
Arsnick, to wit, about four ounces of
Mercury, and I made a thin commixed
consistence; I purged it after a due man∣ner,
and I distilled it, and I had a pure
Body of Lune, whence I knew that I had
Page 4

rightly prepared it: afterwards I added
to its weight of Arsnick, and I increased
its former weight of Mercury, in so much
that the Mercury might prevail to a thin
flux, and so I purged it, to the wasting
of the blackness almost to a Lunary
whiteness: then I took half an ounce of
the Arsnick of which I made a due Mar∣riage,
I added it to this betrothed Mer∣cury,
and there was made a temperature
like Potters Loam, but a little thinner;
I purged it again, after a due manner,
the Purgation was laborious, and a long
time: I made it with the Salt of Urine,
which I have found to be the best in
this Work.

7. Another Purgation, but yet better.
I Have found out a better way of pur∣ging
it, with Vinegar and pure Sea-Salt,
so that in the space of half a day I
can prepare one Eagle: I made the first
Eagle to fly, and Diana is left, with a
little Tincture of Brass; I began the se∣cond
Eagle by removing the superflui∣ties,
and then I made it fly, and again
Page 5

the Doves of Diana are left, with the
Tincture of Brass; I conjoyned the third
Eagle, and I purged the superfluities, by
removing them, even to a whiteness, then
I made it fly, and there was left a great
part of Brass, with the Doves of Diana;
then I made it fly twice by it self, to the
whole extraction of all the Body; then
I joyned the fourth Eagle, by adding
more and more of its own humour by
degrees, and there was made a very tem∣perate
consistence, in which there was
no Hydrops, (or superfluous moisture)
as there was in the three former Eagles.

8. I have found the best way of prepa∣ring the Sophick Mercury, viz. such as follows.
THe Amalgamated Mass, espoused or
joyned very intimately by a due
Marriage, I put into a Crucible, and into
a Furnace of Sand for half an hour, but
so that it might not sublime; then I take
it out, and strongly grind it; then I put
it again in a Crucible, and in the Fur∣nace,
and after a quarter of an hour or
Page 6

thereabouts, I grind it again, and I make
the Mortar hot, by this means the Amal∣gama
begins to be clean, and to cast forth
a great deal of Powder: then I put it in
the Crucible again, and to the Fire as be∣fore,
for a convenient time, so that it be
not sublimed, otherwise the greater the
Fire is, the better it is; so continually
putting it in the Fire, and continually
grinding it, till almost all the Powder
doth wholly disappear, then I wash it,
and the Faeces are easily cast out, and the
Amalgama becomes intire without any
Heterogeneity; then I wash it with Salt,
and again do heat it and grind it: this
I repeat to the full cleansing it from all
manner of Faeces.

9. A threefold tryal of the goodness of the Prepared Mercury.
TAke thy Mercury prepared with its
Arsnick of seven, eight, nine or ten
Eagles, put it into a Phial, and thou shalt
lute it with the Lutum sapientiae: place
it in a Furnace of Sand, and let it stand
in an heat of Sublimation, so that it may
Page 7

ascend and descend in the Glass, until it
be coagulated a little thicker than But∣ter:
continue it unto a perfect Coagula∣tion,
until it be as white as Silver.

10. Another tryal.
IF by shaking it in a Glass with the Salt
of Urine, it be turned into an impalpa∣ble
white Powder of its own accord, so
that it doth not appear as Mercury, and
of its own accord in an hot and dry place
it coagulates again into a thin Mercury,
it is enough; but yet better if being
agitated in Fountain-water, it runs into
small heads or particles, for if the grain
be in the Body, it will not be thus con∣verted
and separated into small minute
parts.

11. The third tryal.
DIstill it in a Glass Alembick, from a
Glass Cucurbit; if it passes over and
leaves nothing behind it, it is a good Mi∣neral
Water.

Page 8
12. The extraction of the Sulphur from the living Mercury by Separation.
TAke thy mixed corporal and spiritual
Compound, the Body of which is
coagulated of the volatile by digestion,
and separate the Mercury from its Sulphur
by a Glass Still, and thou shalt have a
white Luna fixed and resisting Aqua for∣tis,
and more ponderous than common
Silver.

13. The Magical Sol out of this Luna.
OUt of this white Sulphur by Fire thou
shalt have a yellow Sulphur, by a
manual Operation, which Sol is the red
Lead of the Philosophers.

14. Out of this Sulphur, Aurum potabile.
THou mayst turn this yellow Sulphur
into an Oyl as red as Blood, by cir∣culating
it with the Volatile-Mercurial-Philosophical
Menstruum, so thou shalt
have an admirable Panacea, or Universal
Medicine.

Page 9
15. The gross conjunction of the Menstruum with its Sulphur, for the formation of the Off-spring of the Fire.
TAke of thy purged, best prepared and
choicest Mercury, of seven, eight,
nine, or at most ten Eagles, mix it with
the prepared Laton, or its red Sulphur,
that is to say, two parts of the Water, or
at the most three, with one of the pure
Sulphur, ground and purged; N. B. but
it is better that thou takest two parts
to one.

16. The working of the mixture by a manual Operation.
THis thy mixture thou shalt grind very
well upon a Marble, then thou shalt
wash it with Vinegar and Sal Armoniac,
until it hath put off all its black Faeces;
then thou shalt wash off all its saltness
and acrimony with clear Fountain-water,
then shalt thou dry it upon clean white
Paper, by turning of it from place to
place with the point of a Knife, even unto
an exquisite dryness.

Page 10
17. The putting in of the Foetus into the Philosophical Egg.
NOw thy mixture being dryed, put it
into an Oval Glass, of the best and
most transparent Glass, of the bigness of
an Hens Egg; in such a Glass let not thy
Matter exceed two ounces, seal it Her∣metically.

18. The Government of the Fire.
THen you must have a Furnace built,
in which you may keep an immortal
Fire; in it you shall make an heat of
Sand of the first degree, in which the
dew of our Compound may be elevated
and circulated continually day and night,
without any intermission, &c. And in
such a Fire the Body will die, and the
Spirit will be renewed, and at length the
Soul will be glorified and united with a
new immortal and incorruptible Body:
Thus is made a new Heaven.

FINIS.

A
Breviary of ALCHEMY → ;
OR A
COMMENTARY
UPON
Sir GEORGE RIPLEY'S
RECAPITULATION:
BEING
A Paraphrastical Epitome
of his Twelve GATES.

Written by
Aeyrenaeus Philalethes ENGLISH, COSMOPOLITE.

[illustration]
LONDON,
Printed for William Cooper at the Pellican
in Little Britain. MDCLXXVIII.


Page 1
Sir George Ripley's RECAPITULATION.
I.
FOr to bring this Treatise to a final end;
And briefly here to conclude these secrets all:
Diligently look thou, and to thy Figure at∣tend,
Which doth in it contain these secrets great and small:
And if thou it conceive, both Theorical and Practical,
By Figures and Colours, and by Scripture plain,
Which wittily conceived, thou mayest not work in vain.
II.
Consider first the Latitude of this precious Stone,
Beginning in the first side noted in the West,
Where the red Man, and white Woman be made one,
Page 2
Spoused with the Spirit of life to live in love and rest:
Earth and water equally proportion'd, that is best;
And one of the Earth is good, and of the Spirit Three,
Which Twelve to Four also of the Earth may be.
III.
Three of the Wife, and one of the Man thou must take;
And the less of the Spirit there is in this Disponsation,
The rather thy Calcination for certain shalt thou make:
Then forth into the North proceed by obscu∣ration▪
Of the red man and his white Wife called Eclypsation;
Loosing them, and altering them betwixt Winter and Vere,
Into Water turning Earth, dark, and no∣thing clear.
IV.
From thence by Colours many one into the East ascend,
Then shall the Moon be full, appearing by day-light:
Page 3
Then is she passed Purgatory, and her course at an end:
There is the up•rising of the Sun appearing white and bright▪
There is Summer after Vere, and Day after Night:
Then Earth and Water which were black, be turned into Air,
And Clouds of darkness •ver-blown, and all appeareth f••r.
V.
And as in the West was the beginning of thy practice,
And the North the perfect mean of profound alteration:
So in the East after them is the beginning of speculation.
But of this course up in the South the Sun maketh consummation.
There be the Elements turned into Fire by Circulation.
Then to win to thy desire, thou needst not be in doubt,
For the Wheel of our Philosophy thou hast turn'd about.
Page 4
VI.
But yet about again 2 times turn thy wheel,
In which be comprehended all the secrets of our Philosophy
In Chapters Twelve, made plain to thee, if thou conceive them well;
And all the secrets by and by of our lower Astronomy,
How thou shalt Calcine Bodies, perfect, dis∣solve, divide, and putrifie,
With perfect knowledg of all the Poles which in our Heaven been
Shining with Colours inexplicable, never were gayer seen.
VII.
And this one secret conclusion know with∣outen fail,
Our Red Man teyneth not, nor his Wife, until they teyned be;
Therefore if thou list thy self by this craft to avail,
The Altitude of the Bodies hide, and shew out their profundity,
In every of thy Materials destroying the first Quality,
Page 5
And secondary Qualities more glorious in them repair anon;
And in one Glass, with one Reg'ment Four Natures turn to One.
VIII.
Pale and black with false Citrine, unperfect White and Red,
The Peacock's Feathers in Colours gay, the Rainbow, which shall over-go
The spotted Panther, the Lyon green, the Crow's Bill blew as Lead;
These shall appear before the perfect White, and many other moe
Colours; And after the perfect white, gray and false Citrine also:
And after these, then shall appear the bloody red invariable;
Then hast thou a Medicine of the third or∣der of his own kind multiplicable.
IX.
Thou must divide thy white Elixir into parts Two,
Before thou Rubifie, and into Glasses Two let them be done,
If thou wilt have the Elixirs for Sun and Moon, so do,
Page 6
With Mercury then them multiply unto great quantity soon:
And if thou hadst not at the beginning e∣nough to fill a Spoon,
Yet thou mayst them so multiply, both the White, and the Red,
That if thou liv'st a Thousand Years, they will stand thee in stead.
X.
Have thou recourse unto thy Wheel therefore, I counsel thee,
And study him well to know in each Chap∣ter truly;
Meddle with no Fantastical Multiplyers; but let them be,
Which will thee flatter, and falsly say they are cunning in Philosophy:
Do as I bid thee, then dissolve those fore∣said Bases wittily,
And turn them into perfect Oyls with our true Water ardent
By Circulation, that must be done accord∣ing to our intent.
XI.
These Oyls will six crude Mercury, and convert Bodies all
Page 7
Into perfect Sol and Lune when thou shalt make Projection:
That Oyly Substance pure & fixt, Reymond Lully did call
His Basilisk, of which he never made so plain detection:
Pray for me to God, that I may be one of his Election;
And that he will for one of his at Dooms-day me ken,
And grant me in his Bliss to Reign with him for ever, Amen.
Page 8
A Breviary of Alchemy → ; OR A COMMENTARY UPON Sir GEORGE RIPLEY'S RECAPITULATION: BEING A Paraphrastical Epitome of his XII Gates.
Stanza I. Position I.
That the Art is most certainly true.
WHich wittily conceiv'd, thou
mayest not Work in vain.
Whence observe the Truth
and Certainty of the Art;
so Father Hermes, It is true
(saith he,) without falshood,
certain, and most true; That which is above,
is like that which is beneath; and that
Page 9

which is beneath, is like that which is above,
to bring about the Miracles of one thing.
So Trevisan, Flammel, Dionys. Zachary,
and others, affirm upon their own Expe∣rience:
And so this our Author in his
Epistle to King Edward; his Conclusion
of the Admonition concerning errone∣ous
Experiments, and other places of these
his Twelve Gates, that I need not enlarge
on this Subject.

Stanza II. Position II.
Our Work is made of Three Principles.
WHere the Red Man and the White Wo∣man
are made one, &c. Thence it is
evident, that our Operations are made of
Three Principles, yet of one Essence; the
Red Man, the White Wife, and the Spirit
of Life: By the latter, the two former
are Espoused or made One. This is that
which Trevisan calls his One Root, and
Two Mercurial Substances, crude at their
taking, and extracted out of their Mine∣ra's:
This our Author else-where calls
his Trinity and Ʋnity; the Trinity respect∣ing
the Substances as they are severall;
Page 10

the Ʋnity respecting their Essence, which
is intirely Homogenial; Therefore it is
added, that they live in love and rest
without repugnancy, which could not be
were they not Essentially and Radically
the same; For likeness of Nature is the
Cause of Love, and Oneness of Essence
the true ground of Union; among dif∣ferent
Substances can only be expected
Confusion, if not Destruction.

Position III.
Three Substances make only Two Natures, Earth and Water.
EArth and Water equally proportion'd,
that is best. Here it is evident, that
these Three Substances make up but Two
Natures of Earth and Water: The Man
and Wife are both Bodies or Earths; the
one fixed and ripe; the other Volatile
and unripe, and by Mixture make a brit∣tle
black Hermaphroditical Body or Earth
called the Philosophers Lead, as Ripley in
his Preface expresseth it. The White Wo∣man,
or Famale, is otherwise called the
Moon by all Philosophers; and by this
Page 11

Author in his Doctrine of Proportions;

One of the Sun, and Two of the Moon, till altogether like Pap be done.
Position IV.
From equal Pondus of Earth and Water, Three of Water to One of the Earth is good, but equal is best.
THen make the Mercury Four to the Sun,
Two to the Moon, &c. as it should be
in Figure of the Trinity. And so we come
to take notice of the Doctrine of Propor∣tion
between the Earth and Water, e∣qual
that is best; the same saith our Au∣thor
in his Chapter of Calcination. This
is the surest and best proportion, speaking
of equal Pondus of Earth and Water; and
gives the Reason, because Solution will
be sooner made, viz.

The more thy Earth, the less thy Water be,
The sooner and better Solution shalt thou see.
And here he affirms the same of Calci∣nation,
which goes before Solution. Yet
Three of the Water to One of the Earth,
will do well, lest the Tincture should not
Page 12

have room to be sufficiently dilated in the
Water, and the Body opened by it; and
this is the Pondus of Roger Bacon, which
requires a longer time before the quick
be kil'd; and by consequence, the revi∣ving
of the dead must be longer in doing;
For Calcination is nothing else, but a kil∣ling
the moist with the dry; till which be
done, there is no reviving of the dry by
the moist, but they have one and the same
Operation and Period of time; for one
dies not, but the other revives: nor doth
the Dragon die, but with its Sister.

Position V.
The White Wife in the first Conjunction is to be Three to One of the Red Man.
THree of the Wife, and one of the Man
thou take, &c. From the Pondus be∣tween
the Earth and Water, come we to
view the Proportion between the Man
and his Wife; Here the Pondus is laid
down Three to One, and so there are
Four parts of Earth to Four of Water, or
more, until Twelve; that is, Three of
Water to One of the Earth. This also is
Page 13

clear from the Chapter of Conjunction,
where the Woman is allow'd 15 Veins to
5 of the Man, as to the Act of their Foe∣cundity,
which is interpreted of the first
Conjunction by himself, that the Man must
have but 3 of Water, and his Wife 9, which
is 12 of Water to 4 of the Earth; by
which it is evident, that the Woman is to
exceed her Husband in a three-fold Pro∣portion.

Or Two to One after Reymund: Or Four
to One according to Alanus; but Three to
One is best.

However, in Reymund's Doctrine of
Proportions cited by our Author in his
Gate of Calcination, One of the Sun is
joyn'd with Two of the Moon, which
make Three of the Body; and to these
are added Four of Mercury, which is One
more of the Spiritual than of the Corpo∣ral
part; and this the Author compares
to Trinity and Ʋnity, both are good; Yea,
and Alanus prescribes Four parts to One,
which may be done, but Three to One is
best and equal Pondus of Spirit and Life,
for compleating of the Marriage between
this Royal Pair, the Sun the Husband, and
the Moon the Wife: Of this speaks this
Page 14

Author in his Gate of Solution; One in
Gender they be, but in Number not so;
The Father is the Sun, and the Moon the
Mother, the Mover is Mercury.

This Compound according to its vari∣ous
Considerations, hath many Relations,
and as many Denominations; Sun and
Moon, Man and Wife, Body, Soul and
Spirit, Earth and Water, Sister and Bro∣ther,
Mother and Son, with many others;
but its Proper Name is Magnesia.

Quest. What is the Red Man? what his
White Wife? What the Spirit of Life?

It may be here questioned, what this
Red Man is? what his White Wife? and
what the Spirit of Life? for that is the
only knot in understanding the Writings
of Philosophers, whose various Expressi∣ons,
and seeming Contradictions herein,
do obscure the Art wonderfully: Yet
however they seem to differ in their
Writings, they mean all one thing, if
well or rightly understood.

Answer 1st. What the Red Man is?

The Red Man betokens the perfect
Body of the Sun, or his Shadow the
Moon; For Lune the Body, which is one
of the Seven, is a Male, and a perfect Bo∣dy,
Page 15

and fixed, only wants a little Dige∣stion;
and therefore the Red is hid under
its visible White, as White is hid under
the visible Red of Sol: Therefore our
Author in his Work of Albification, saith,
that the Sun appeareth White and Bright:
And Trevisan saith, our King, who is cloa∣thed
in Garments of pure Gold, after he
is once in the Bath, appears no more till
after one hundred and thirty days; and
then he appears White, and wonderfully
bright and shining. And an old Philo∣sopher
saith, Honour our King at his return
from the East in Glory and admirable bright
whiteness. Therefore saith Artefius, Our
Water is of kin to the perfect Bodies, to
the Sun, and to the Moon; but more to
the Sun then to the Moon; (Note this
well.) And in all his Books he joyns
the Sun and Moon the perfect Bodies
Gold and Silver for the work. So
doth Ripley, and so all Philosophers; by
which it is evident, that either of the
perfect Metals or Luminaries with o•r
Aqua Vitae, will compleat the work; as
Arnold expressly saith in his Questions &
Answers to Boniface; and Jodocus Gre∣verus
Page 16

in his Treatise, confirms the same in
these words; If so be (saith he) thou be so
poor that thou canst not take Gold, then take
so much Silver; yet Gold is the better, as be∣ing
nearer of kin to our Water and Mercury.

Answer 2. What is the White Wife?

Secondly, The White Wife, otherwise
called the Moon, is a Female; it is a Co∣agulated
Mercury, but not fixt: A spiri∣tual
Body, fluxible in nature of a Body,
yet Volatile, in nature of a Spirit; It is
called therefore Mercury of the Philoso∣phers;
Our Green Lyon; Our immature
or unripe Gold: It is Pontanus's Fire, Ar∣tephius's
middle substance, clear like pure
Silver, which ought to receive the Tin∣ctures
of the Sun and Moon, his sharp
Vineger, his Antimonial-Saturnine-Mercu∣rial
Argent Vive, without which •aton
cannot be whitened; of which an old
Philosopher saith, whiten the red Laton,
by a white, tepid, and suffocated Water;
of which testimony Tr•visanus affirms, that
nothing could be said better or clearer.
This is that which is intimated in the Vi∣sion
of Arislaus, who found a People that
were Married, yet had no Children, be∣cause
Page 17

they married two Males together:
Such are they who mix Sol and Lune, both
Corporal and fixt together, whom the
Spirit will never revive, because there is
not conjugal Love. Joyn therefore Ga∣britius
to his beloved Sister Beya, which
is a tender Damsel, and straight∣way Ga∣britius
will die; that is, will lose what he
was; and from that place where he ap∣peared
to have lost what he was, he shall
appear what he was not before.

Answ. 3. What is the Spirit of Life?

Thirdly, The Spirit of Life is Mercury;
The Mover saith this Author is Mercury,
with which the Stone is to be multiplyed
when it is made: And it must be true
Mineral Mercury, without any forreign
mixture, as Arnold resolves expressly in
his Answer to Boniface: And so Ripley
saith, some can multiply Mercury with Sa∣turn,
and other substances, which we de∣fie;
Distil it therefore till it be clean, &c.
It moreover must have all the proporti∣ons
of Mercury its ponderosity, otherwise
it could not be Metalline; its Humidity,
otherwise the Feminine Sperm would be
deficient, and its siccity, not to wet the
Page 18

hand; which it can no sooner lose by
Corrosives or otherwise; but it straight-way
loseth its first Mineral Proportion,
and so is no longer an Ingredient of our
true Tincture.

Position VI.
As the West Latitude is the entrance, so in the North is the first alteration.
PRoceed then forth to the North by obscu∣ration,
&c. Loosing them, and alter∣ing
them, &c. The Materials being found,
and mixt according to the Proportions
taught before, is called the West Latitude;
because in it the Sun sets, and afterwards
appears no more in his Red Robes, till he
first be cloathed with a White glittering
Robe, and be Crowned with a very bright
Oriental Diadem. Now the progress into
the North, is a discovery of the Profun∣dity
of the Stone, and is compared to the
Winter, which is in the North, (chiefly)
long, tedious, cold and slabbery; so will
it be in this Work; the Signs are Capri∣corn,
Pisces, and Aquarius; In this there
Page 19

is a retrogradation of Sol into its first mat∣ter,
in which alteration the old Form dies,
the Matter rots and putrifies; and is after
renewed in the East.

This Operation (saith Flammel) is not
perfected in less then Five Months; and the
Colours of the Compound are dark, obscure,
waterish, and at length black like Pitch;
in which blackness the Body is rotted into
Atoms; which intire blackness, and height
of corruption lasts but 2 or 3 days; and there∣fore
saith Ripley in his Epistle, the third day
he shall arise; the same saith Dastin in his
Rosary, where he allows four days for Pu∣trefaction:
The same saith Efferarius the
Monk in his intire Treatise published with
Dastin; However, the whole time of
blackness, in coming, continuing, and go∣ing
away, is 150 days, although the Sun
begins to appear in 130 days, if you work
aright. This I have added for the sake
of many who expect black of the blackest
in 40 or 50 dayes, mistaking Flammel
herein; who saith, the colour must be
black of the blackest, and like to the co∣lour
of the Dragons in 40 days, which
Dragons were blackish, blewish, and yel∣lowish,
Page 20

which colours shew that the Mat∣ter
begins to rot into Atoms; which rot∣tenness
is not perfected in less than 150
days. (so as to let the Sun appear with its
Rays;) First in a small Circle of Heir of a
whitish Citrine; which increaseth, and
changeth hue day by day, till whiteness
be fully compleated.

Position VII.
The East denoting Whiteness, is the begin∣ning of the Stones Altitude.
THence by Colours many into the East as∣cend,
&c. In the Work are three Di∣mensions;
Altitude, Latitude, and Pro∣fundity:
The Altitude is the Perfection
of the Bodies which is Inchoate in White∣ness,
and compleat in Redness. The Pro∣fundity
is the first Matter into which they
are resolved; For Multiplication and the
Latitude is the means through which it
passeth from its Perfection to be abased;
and from its abasement to its Glorifica∣tion.

In this passage are infinite gay colours
Page 21

like unto those as appeared before Black∣ness,
but more glorious; For note, the
Stone hath but three colours, Black, White
and Red: In the first when compleated,
it stays three, or four days at most; in the
second as long; in the last it reposeth it
self for ever, between these Periods as the
Matter is moister or dryer, purer or im∣purer,
many intermediate colours appear,
more then can be numbred; But Two,
(viz.) Green and Yellow, are of long
continuance, before the White and the
Red: But many colours appear between
the beginning of that Work, and the first
colour of Blackness: And although seve∣ral
colours appear, yet are they dark,
foggy, and foul coloured; by which it
appears, that Blackness is the predomi∣nant,
which for a space will appear like
the Aegyptian darkness, and is much about
the same continuance: so between Black∣ness
and the White, although infinite co∣lours
appear; yet the Basis of them be∣ing
Whiteness, they are bright, and very
glorious, which being only transient, pass,
and go, and others come in their place,
until the White be perfected.

Page 22
Position VIII.
The South or Redness is the complement of this Mastery.
OF this course in the South the Sun ma∣keth
Consummation. After the White,
the Fire being continued, the Compound
will become Azure, Gray, and then Ci∣trine,
which will last a long time; and at
last end in a bloody Redness.

Position IX.
He that supposeth his Work ended when the Stone is brought to its redness, is mistaken.
BƲt yet again Two times turn about thy
Wheel, &c. The Stone being by con∣stant
and long Decoction brought to this
pass; he who thinketh the race quite run,
reckons without his Host, and must reckon
again: It is Medicine of the first Order,
and must be brought to the third Order
by Imbibitions and Cibation, which is a
second turning round the Wheel; and by
Page 23

Fermentation, which is a third turning
round the Wheel, and brings the Medi∣cine
to the third Order, and makes it then
fit for Projection, which at first it is not;
For till the Medicine will flow like Wax,
it cannot enter Mercury before its flight;
but the Powder as it is made at first, is like
Grains or Atoms, and is congealed in a
far greater heat, then will make ☿ to fume,
yet it abides in its from of Dust or Powder,
which must be otherwise before it be fit∣ted
for Projection; therefore the Stone
tingeth Mercury into a Metalline Mass in
the twinkling of an eye, as our Author
saith in his Preface, even as the Basilisk
kills by sight: But the Red Sulphur con∣verteth
Mercury by a digestion of time in∣to
its own Nature, (viz.) Powder, if it
be joyn'd in a due proportion, and digest∣ed
in a due heat: Therefore saith our
Author, if you give it too much, it must
have a Vomit, or it will be sick too long,
but the Stone will never part with any
Mercury that is joyned to it in heat; our
Sulphur then is a Royal Infant, which doth
both hunger and thirst; and if you can
but be a Nurse to it as you ought, it will
Page 24

repay both your Pains and cost: Leave
not then where you should begin; but
go on till you bring it to the third Order,
which Reymond calls his Oyls and Un∣guents;
and so our Author likewise.

Three Properties there are in which
the White and Red Sulphurs of the first
Order, differ from those of the third Or∣der.

One flows as easily as any Wax in heat,
or on a hot Metal: the other in a strong
heat abides a Powder.

The one is like to Glass, brittle, pon∣derous
and shining; the other a powder
like to Atoms.

The one enters Mercury like an Oyl,
and Coagulates it in an instant: the other
drinks up Mercury only, as the Calx of a
Metal would do, but will not retain it, if
the Fire be increased strong, nor turn it
into Metal; but if the heat and proportion
be both as they ought, by a digestion of
Time, it turns it into its own Nature:
And so, (as Ripley saith truly,) you may
Multiply both White and Red with Mer∣cury;
That if at first you had not enough
to fill a spoon, yet in short time you may
Page 25

be stored for your whole life, were it ten
times as long as it is like to be.

Position X.
Our Stone must have a Specification to Me∣tals before it will Project.
OƲr Red Man teyneth not until he teyned
be, &c. Our Red Man or King must be
teyned by Ferment, before it will tinge
imperfect Metals: the Ferments are only
Sol and Luna, the Proportion a fourth
part to the Compound let the Sulphurs be,
and three parts of Sol or Luna according
as the Sulphur is: or four parts Sol and
Luna, and the Sulphur a fifth part; then
with Mercury digest and putrifie your Fer∣ment,
and congeal it, and again Ferment
it, till it flow like Wax or Oyl; then will
that Oyl fix Mercury, and turn any Metal
into Perfection; which you may then
Multiply at your pleasure, or you may
multiply it before Fermentation: Then
take the perfect Stone for your Body, and
mix him with the White Wife in propor∣tion
as at first, and add the Spirit of Life,
Page 26

as at first, and digest it till it pass the three
colours, Black, White, and Red.

Thus doth our Author conclude his
Erroneous Experiments also: I never saw
true work but one, saith he. One he did,
but it was after infinite Errours, and other
work no Philosopher ever yet saw, which
he briefly describes.

Remember Man the most Noble Creature,
&c. that is Gold; It is an errour to write
it, (Remember that Man is the most Noble
Creature of Earthly Composition;) For
Man is not of Earthly Composition, but
Stones, Metals, and Clays, &c. are. Now
because we seek the Noblest of Creatures
of Earthly Composition, we must be so
wise as to take it for our Principle: For
as he saith else-where; as Fire of burning
the Principle is, so the Principle of Gilding
is Gold •wis. In this noblest Creature he
saith, are the four Elements proportioned
by nature, which makes it incombusti∣ble,
for were any predominant, it would
not abide; but as Trevisan saith, the Ana∣tical
proportioning the Elements in a me∣talline
matter, is the very form of Gold:
or that rather which gives it its form. He
Page 27

adds a natural Mercuriality, which costeth
right nought; that is a pure, sincere Mi∣neral
Water: without adulteration, not
Artificial out of Saturn, Jupiter, &c. But
natural not a dear Mercury: but that
which is common and cheap. He adds
one of his Minera's by Art is brought,
that is our green Lyon, for with our first
Menstrue, we Calcine only perfect bodies;
but none which are unclean, except one,
which is usually call'd by Philosophers the
Lyon-Green, into this the clearness of the
Sun, or of the Moon, secretly▪ descends:
that is, by this the Mercuriality, or pro∣fundity
of the Sun and Moon are mani∣fested
by exuberation, but is hidden from
sight a long time; till after putrefaction,
it exuberates and appears openly, bleed∣ing
and changing colours, and at first be∣ing
cloathed in a glorious Green: of
which saith the Rosary, O happy Green∣ness,
without which nothing can spring?
This exuberate-Mercury is our hidden
Stone, that is, Potentially, for when that
appears; repugnant natures are tyed to
Unity, that is our Green-Lyon, or Mi∣nera,
or vegetable humidity, or Mercuria∣lity
Page 28

natural, which costeth right naught,
or our first Menstrue, and the noblest
Creature of Earthly composition, which
is either the Sun, or Moon, but especially
the Sun: In each of which the Mercu∣riality
is invisible, and appears not to
sight; but by effect, that is, in the quali∣ty
of clearness, with Whiteness in one,
and with redness in the other, these three
being United, the Mercury of the Sun
exuberates and appears at first green, then
is the Eclipse near, and the Northern
progress, the process after all this is short;
this one thing putrifies, then wash him in
his own broth, till he become White,
then Ferment him wisely; there is the
beginning, middle and end. Glory be to
God.

FINIS.

These Books are Printed lately for William Cooper at the Pellican in Little-Britain, London.
THe Philosophical Epitaph in Hie∣roglyphical Figures. 8o
A Brief of the Golden Calf the Miracle of Nature. 8o
Glauber's Golden Ass, to get Gold from Stones, Sand, &c. 8o
Jehior, the Three Principles or Origi∣nal of all things. 8o
A Catalogue of Chymical Books in 3 parts. 8o
Simpson's Philosophical Discourse of Fermentation. 8o
Aeyrenaeus Philalethes's Secrets Re∣veal'd; Or the Shut Pallance open'd. 8o
His Exposition upon Sir G. Ripley's Epistle to K. Ed. IV. 8o
Upon Sir G. Ripley's Recapitu∣lation. 8o
These are Printing.
Aeyr. Philalethes his Exposition upon Sir G. Ripley's Vision. 8o
Upon Sir G. Ripley's Preface. 8o
Upon Sir G. Ripley's first 6 Gates. 8o
FINIS.


AN
EXPOSITION
UPON
Sir GEORGE RIPLEY's
VISION.

Written by
Aeyrenaeus Philalethes, an Englishman, a Cosmopolitan.

[illustration]
LONDON,
Printed for William Cooper at the Pellican
in Little Britain▪ MDCLXXVII.



THE VISION OF Sr GEORGE RIPLEY, Canon of Bridlington, Unfolded.
WHen busie at my Book I was upon a certain Night,
This Vision here exprest appear'd unto my dimmed sight:
A Toad full Ruddy I saw, did drink the juice of Grapes so fast,
Till over-charged with the broth, his Bow∣els all to brast:
And after that, from poyson'd Bulk he cast his Venom fell,
For Grief and Pain whereof his Members all began to swell;
With drops of Poysoned sweat approaching thus his secret Den,
His Cave with blasts of fumous Air he all bewhited then:
And •rom the which in space a Golden Hu∣mour did ensue,
Whose falling drops from high did stain the soyl with ruddy hue.
Page 2
And when his Corps the force of vital breath began to lack,
This dying Toad became forthwith like Coal for colour Black:
Thus drowned in his proper veins of poy∣soned flood;
For term of Eighty days and Four he rotting stood
By Tryal then this Venom to expel I did desire;
For which I did commit his Carkass to a gentle Fire:
Which done, a Wonder to the sight, but more to be rehearst;
The Toad with Colours rare through every side was pierc'd;
And White appear'd when all the sundry hews were past:
Which after being tincted Ruddy, for ever∣more did last.
Then of the Venom handled thus a Medicine I did make;
Which Venom kills, and saveth such as Venom chance to take:
Glory be to him the granter of such se∣cret ways,
Dominion, and Honour both, with Wor•ship, and with Praise. Amen.
Page 1
THE VISION OF Sr GEORGE RIPLEY, Canon of Bridlington, Unfolded.
THis Vision is a Parable ra∣ther
or Enigm, which the
Ancient Wise Philosophers
have been wont to use often
in setting out their secrets;
this Liberty is granted to all
men for to make use of Enigmatical ex∣pressions,
to decipher that which is in∣deed
mysterious. The Ancient Egyptians
taught much by Hieroglyphicks, which
way many Fathers of this Science have
followed; but most especially they have
made use of Mystical or Cabalistical de∣scriptions;
such is this. But to the thing
in hand.

Page 2
A Toad full ruddy I saw.—
HEre we have a Toad described, and
in it the whole secret of Philosophers:
The Toad is Gold; so called, because it is
an Earthly Body, but most especially for
the black stinking venenosity which this
operation comes to in the first days of
its preparation, before the whiteness ap∣pear;
during the Rule of Saturn, therefore
it is called the ruddy Toad.

To this Authors assent with one ac∣cord;
when they say our stone is nothing
else but Gold digested unto the highest
degree, to which Nature and Art, can
bring it; and again the first work, saith a∣nother
Philosopher, is to sublime Mercury,
and then into clean Mercury to put clean
bodies: many witnesses I could bring, yea
the whole current of writers run this way:
And what if some subtle Philosophers seem
to deny this, on purpose to deceive the
unwary? We shall not make it our work
to reconcile them; (though we might)
for many of them wrote very enviously,
on purpose to ensnare; all of them wrote
Page 3

mysteriously, as much as they could to
darken the truth: and at the best none of
them were but men, and described things
according to their apprehensions in
Philosophy, none of them wrote in every
thing the naked truth; for then the Art
would become so easie, that it would be
contemned. But what needs words? we
know the Truth, and we know by a se∣cret
Character, true Writers from So∣phisters;
and we need no Arguments
being eye-witnesses our selves, and know
that there is but one truth; nor but
one path, even the beaten path in which
all who ever have attained this Art
have troden, nor can we be deceived
our selves; nor would we deceive others.

Did drink the juice of Grapes.
THis Toad is said to drink the juice of
Grapes according to the Philosopher,
the body, saith he, is not nobler than Gold,
nor yet the water more pretious than
wine. This water they call sometimes Aqua
Ardens, sometimes Acetum Acerrimum, but
most commonly they call it their Mercury;
Page 4

this denomination I shall not insist upon;
but shall assure yon that it only deciphers
Mercury, even that Mercury, of which I
writ in my little Latine Treatise, called
〈 in non-Latin alphabet 〉, or Introitus aper∣tus
ad occlusum Regis palatium; in that I
discovered the whole Truth fully and
nakedly, and if not too plainly, I am
sure plain enough. I shall not here repeat;
to that I remit the Reader.

This juice of Grapes this Toad is said
to drink; that is not only in the gross
Conjunction, which is an Impastation of
the body, with the Water to the temper
of Dough or Leaven, which the Water
readily doth: such affinity there is be∣tween
the Water and the Body; as the
Philosopher saith, this Water is friendly
and pleasant to the metals. But over, and
besides the Water soaks Radically into
our Body; being circulated upon it,
according as the Philosopher saith, When
its own sweat is returned to the Body, it
perforates it marvellously. Thus the Body
drinks in the Water, or Juice of Grapes,
not so much then when they are first
mingled: but most especially, when by
Page 5

decoction it pierceth radically to the
very profundity of it; and makes it to
alter its Form; This is the Water which
teareth the Bodies, and makes them no
Bodies, but flying Spirits like a Smoak,
Wind or Fume, as Artephius speaketh
plentifully.

This operation is performed in a short
while, in comparison of Subterraneal
operations of Nature, which are done
in a very long time; therefore it is that
so many Philosophers say, that it is done
in a very short time, and yet it is not
without cause, that so many of the Phi∣losophers
have complained of the length
of this decoction.

Therefore the same Artephius who had
said, that this fire of the Water of our
Mercury, doth that in a short time above
ground, that Nature was in performing a
1000 years, doth in another place say, that
the tincture doth not come out at once,
but by little and little each day, and hour,
till after along time the decoction be com∣pleat,
according to the saying of the Phi∣losopher:
Boyl, boyl, and again boyl, and
accompt not tedious our long decoction.

Page 6
So fast.
SO then this expression here, that the
Toad doth drink in the Juice of
Grapes so fast, doth not imply but that
this work must have the true time of Na∣ture;
which is indeed a long time, and
so is every decoction at least: so they
will seem to the Artist who attends the
fire day by day, and yet must wait for
the fruit with Patience, till the Heaven
have showred down upon the Earth the
former and latter Rain: yet be not out of
heart, but attend until the compleatment,
for then a large Harvest will abundantly
recompence all thy toyl.

Till over-charged with the Broth, his Bowels all to brast.
IT follows in the Vision, that at length the
Toad (over-charged with the broth) did
burst asunder; This broth is the same
which the fair Medea did prepare, and
pour upon the two Serpents which did
keep the Golden Aples, which grew in
Page 7

the hidden Garden of the Virgins Hespe∣rides.

For the Vinegre of the Philosophers
being circulated upon the Body, doth en∣gender
a substance like unto bloudy
Broth, and makes Colours of the Rain∣bow,
to appear in the ascension and de∣scension
upon your Lyon, until the Eagles
have at length devoured the Lyon, and
all together being killed with the Cari∣on
of the Carcasses become a venemous
Toad, creeping on the Earth, and a
Crow swimming in the midst of the dead
Sea.

The Juice of Grapes then, which is our
Mercury, drawn from the Chameleon or
Air of our Physical Magnesia, and Chalybs
Magical, being circulated upon our true
Terra Lemnia; after it is grossly mixed
with it by Incorporation, and set to our
fire to digest, doth still enter in and upon
our Body, and searcheth the profoundity
of it; and makes the occult to become ma∣nifest
by continual ascension and descen∣sion:
till all together become a Broth;
which is a mean substance of dissevered
qualities, between the Water and the
Page 8

Body, till at length the Body burst asunder
and be reduced into a Powder, like to
the Atoms of the Sun, black of the blackest
and of a viscous matter.

And after that, from poysoned bulk he cast his venom fell.
THis Reduction of the Body, thus in
this water ingenders so venomous
a Nature, that truly in the whole World
there is not a ranker Poyson, or stink,
according as Philosophers witness: And
therefore he is said to cast his fell venom
from his poysoned bulk; in as much as
the exhalations are compared to the Inve∣nomed
Fume of Dragons, as Flamell in his
Summary hath such an Allusion. But the
Philosopher (as he adds in his Hierogly∣phicks
of the two Dragons,) never feels
his stink, unless he break his Vessels, but
only he judgeth it by the colours procee∣ding
from the rottenness of the Confe∣ctions.

And indeed it is a wonder to consider,
(which some Sons of Art are eye-witnes∣ses
of) that the fixed and most digested
Page 9

Body of Gold; should so rot and putri∣fie,
as if it were a Carcass, which is done by
the admirable Divine virtue of our dis∣solving
Water, which no Money can
purchase. All these operations, which are
so enlarged by variety of expressions,
center in one, which is killing the quick,
and reviving the dead.

For grief and pain whereof his members all began to swell.
THis venemous fume of exhalations
returning upon the Body, cause
it to swell all over according to the
saying of the Philosopher; The Body
in this Water puffeth up, swelleth and
putrifieth as a Grain of Corn, taking
the nature living and vegetable, therefore
for this cause this Water is in this sence
called by the Philosophers their Leaven,
for as Leaven causeth Past to swell,
so this fermenteth the body, and causeth
it to tumefie and puff up; it is also called
venom, for as venom causeth swelling, so
this Water by its reiteration uncessantly
upon our body.

Page 10

This operation is uncessant from the
first incitation of the matter, even until
compleat putrefaction; for the Toad
doth always send forth his exhalations
(being rather called the Lyon,) till he be
over-come in part: and then when the
Body begins a little to put on the Nature
of the Water, and the Water of the
Body, then it is compared to two Dra∣gons,
one winged, and the other without
wings: and lastly when that stinking
Earth appears, which Hermes calls his Ter∣ra
Foliata, or Earth of Leaves, then it is
most properly called the Toad of the
Earth; from the first excitation, even to
the last of this putrefaction: which exha∣lations
are at the beginning for a time
White, and afterwards become Yellowish,
Blewish, and Blackish, (from the virulency
of the matter) which exhalations hourly
condensing, and ever and anon running
down like little veins in drops, do enter
the Body marvelously, and the more it
is entred; the more it swells and puffs
up, till at length it be compleatly putre∣fied.

Page 11
With drops of poysoned sweat, approach∣ing thus his secret Den.
THe following two Verses then are
but a more Ample description of
this work; of volatization which is
an ascension, and descension, or cir∣culation
of the confections within
the Glass. Which Glass here called
the secret Den, is else-where called by
the same Author, a little Glassen-tun,
and is an ovall Vessel; of the purest
White Glass, about the bigness of an or∣dinary
Hen-Egg, in the which about the
quantity of an ounce of 8 drachms of the
confection, in all mixed is a convenient
proportion to be set, which being Seal'd
up with Hermes Seal, the Glass having a
neck about 6 fingers high, or there∣abouts,
which being thin and narrow;
is melted together Artificially, that no
Spirits can get out, nor no Air can come
in, in which respect it is named a secret
Den.

Also it is called a secret Den, because
of the secretness of Ashes or Sand, in
Page 12

which in a Philosophical Athanor it is
set, the doores being firmly shut up, and
a prospect left to look in by a Window,
either to open a little, as much as is con∣venient
sometimes, as occasion requires,
or else with Glass put into it, to admit
the view of the Artist; together with a
light at hand to shew the colours.

His Cave with blasts of fumous Air, he all bewhited then.
WHich Glass, Nest, and Furnace
being thus secretly ordered, the
Artist must in the first place expect to
be in Prison a long time, as Bernard Tre∣visan
saith, for the Concave of this secret
place, will be so bewhited with the
fumes which ascend, that an Artist rules
his work more by skill and reason, or
the eye of the mind, then of the Body,
for the Spirits arising like a smoak or
Wind, sticketh to the Concave of the
Glass, which is above the Sand or Ashes,
and there by degrees, there grow drops
which run down and moisten the Body
below, and reduce as much as they can
Page 13

of the fixed, and so the Body by the
Water, and the Water by the Body alter
their colours.

And from the which in space a Golden Humour did ensue.
IN so much that at length, the whole
Vessel will seem as though it were all
over gilded with Gold, for the exhalations
will be Yellow, which is a sign of true Co∣pulation
of our Man & Woman together,
but before this Yellow, and with it there
will be an obscuring of the White bright∣ness
of the Fume, with mixture of Co∣lours,
Dark, obscure and Blewish.

The space is not long, for all the
several passages are conspicuous before
40 days; for in that space from these Co∣lours,
are demonstrating Signs of Cor∣ruption
and Generation, which is given us
by the biting, and fiery Nature of our
pontick Waters, and the resistance of
our Bodies; in which Fight the Body
is over-come, and killed, and dy∣ing
yields these Colours: which is a
Sign that the Eagles now are getting the
Page 14

Mastery, and that our Lyon hath also
a little infected them with his Carcass,
which they begin to prey upon. This
Operation is by Ingenious Artists called
Extraction of Natures, and Separation,
for the Tincture begins now to be sepa∣rated
from the Body. Also Reduction
to the first matter; which is Sperm or
Seed, which by reason of its double Na∣ture,
is compared to two Dragons. I
shall not enlarge in this Vision, but briefly
unfold what is briefly laid down.

Whose falling drops from high did stain the soyl with ruddy hue.
THese colours of the Mercury, do affect
the subsident fixed Body, with suta∣ble
colours and the Bodies from these ex∣halations,
be Tincted with a ruddy colour,
which Flamel expresseth to this purpose,
that these two Natures, or Dragons do bite
one another very cruelly; and never
leave from the time they have seised one
upon another; till by their slavering
Venom, and mortal hurts, they be all
of a gore bloud, and then being stewed
Page 15

in their own Venom, are changed into
a fifth Essence.

And when his Corps the force of vital breath began to lack.
BUt before the renovation of these
Natures, they must in the first place
pass through the Eclipse, both of the Sun
and Moon and the darkness of Purgatory,
which is the Gate of Blackness, and after
that they shall be renovated with the light
of Paradise.

This Allegorically is called Death, •or
as a man will resist violence, which in∣trencheth
upon his life as long as he can,
but if his Enemies are many and mighty,
at length they grow too mighty for him,
and he begins to fail both in strength and
courage, and so Paleness, the Harbinger
of Death, doth stand as it were on his lips,
so our Body or Man the Sun, like a strong
Champion, doth resist long, till he be
wounded, and bleed as it were all over,
and then dies, at whose death blackness
doth begin to appear, as of old the Ra∣vens
were foretellers of Mans death ap∣proaching:
Page 16

for this Reiteration of Ro∣tation
of the Influences of the Heaven of
it, together with Heat still drying up
and soaking in the Moisture as fast as it
falls, brings it at last naturally to die and
corrupt, as any other thing doth.

And then the Corps begin to lack
breath; that is, the Fumes begin to cease:
for with oft ascending and descending the
Spirits are somewhat fixed, and turned
into Powder or Dust, and are now in the
bottom of the Vessel, drawing fast to Pu∣trefaction:
Nor do they for a time ascend,
but remain below.

Wherefore govern your Fire, that
your Spirits be not so exalted, and climb
so high that the Earth want them, and
they return no more: For this Opera∣tion
is, as Morien saith, a drawing out
of Water from the Earth, and again a re∣turning
of the same to the Earth, so of∣ten
and so long till the Earth putrefie.

Page 17
This dying▪ Toad became forthwith like Coal▪ for colour black.
THis is the final end of the Combat,
for herein in this Earth of Leaves all
are reconciled, and final Peace is made;
and now one Nature embraceth another,
in no other form but in the form of a
Powder impalpable, and in no other co∣lour
but black of the blackest.

From henceforth Natures are united,
and boil and bubble together like melted
Pitch, and change their forms one into
another. Take heed therefore lest in∣stead
of Powder Black of the Blackest,
which is the Crows Bill, you have an un∣profitable
dry half red Precipitate, O∣range-coloured,
which is a certain sign
of the Combustion of Flowers, or Ver∣tue
of the Vegetative Seed. On this
very Rock I have stumbled, and do there∣fore
warn you.

Page 18
Thus drowned in his proper Veins of poy∣soned Flood.
IT appears by all that hath been said,
and by the undoubted Testimony of
all Philosophers who have been Eye-wit∣nesses
to this Truth, that the work is not
so tedious, nor so chargeable, but that in
the simple way of Nature the Mastery is
to be attained: for when once the true
body is Impasted with its true Leven, it
doth calcine it self, and dissolve it self for
the dissolution of the Body into a black
and changeable coloured Water, which
is the sign of egression of the Tincture,
is the Congelation of the Spirits into this
lowest Period of Obscurity, which is this
black Powder like unto Lamp-Black, this
is the Complement of Eclipsation, which
Contrition begins soon after the Colours,
Yellowish, Blewish, &c.

Page 19
For term of Eighty Days and Four he rotting stood.
THis Calcination begins with these Va∣riations
in Colour about the two
and fortieth day, or fiftieth at the far∣thest,
in a good Regimen: After which
comes putrefying Corruption, like to the
Scum of boiling bloody Broath or melted
Pitch; but Blackness in part, to wit, Su∣perficial,
begins about the fortieth day
after the stirring up of the matter, in case
of right Progress and Regimen of the
Fire, or about the fiftieth at farthest.
But this drowning of him in his own Poy∣son,
and stewing him in his own Broath,
is the intire Blackness and Cimmerian ut∣ter
Darkness of compleat Rottenness,
which according to the Author, is for
the space of eighty four days. This
time is not certainly agreed upon by
Authors: But in this they all agree, they
prescribe so long time until the Com∣plement.
One writes, That this Blackest
Black indures a long time, and is not de∣stroyed
in less than five months. Another
Page 20

writes, That the King when he enters into
his Bath pulls off his Robe, and gives
it to Saturn, from whom he receives a
Black Shirt, which he keeps forty two
days: And indeed it is two and
forty days before he put on this Black
Shirt instead of his Golden Robe,
that is, be destroyed as touching his So∣lary
Qualities, and become instead of
Fixt, Citrine, Terrene, and Solid, a Fu∣gitive,
Black, Spiritual, Watery, and
Flegmatick Substance: But Putridness
begins not till the first Forms be put
off; for so long as the Body may be
reduced into its former Nature, it is
not yet well ground and imbibed I
grind therefore and imbibe, till thou
see the Bodies to become no Bodies▪
but a Fume and Wind, and then cir∣culating
for a season, thou shalt see
them settle and putrifie.

Saturn then will hold the Earth, which
is Occidental, Retentive and Autum•al,
in the West; then proceed to the North,
where Mercury holdeth the Water,
where the Matter is Watery and Fleg∣matick,
and it is Winter, and the North
Page 21

expulsive. But they who divide the
Operation into Saturn's Rule, and after
him succeeding Jupiter, ascribe to Sa∣turn
the whole of Putridness, and to
Jupiter the time of variety of Co∣lours.
After Jupiter, who holds but
twenty or two and twenty days, comes
Luna, the third Person, bright and fair,
and she holds twenty good days, some∣times
two over and above: In this
Computation it is good to count from
the fortieth or fiftieth day of the first
beginning of the Stone, to the four∣teenth
or sixteenth day of Jupiter's
Reign, wherein in the washing of La∣ton
there is still Blackness, though mi∣xed
with variety of gay Colours, which
amounteth to the sum of days allow∣ed
by the Author in Putrifaction, to
wit, Eighty four days. Accounting
intire Blackness, with A•gurellus, after
four times eleven days and nights,
which make four and forty: Or, ac∣cording
to another Philosopher, which
saith, In the first Fifty Days there ap∣pears
the True Crow, and after it in
Threescore and Ten Dayes the White
Page 22

Dove; and after in Fourscore and Ten
Days the Tyrian Colour.

By Tryal then this Venom to expel I did desire;
For which I did commit his Carcass to a gentle Fire.
Which done, a Wonder to the sight, but more to be rehearst;
The Toad with Colours rare through every side was pierc'd.
And white appear'd when all the sundry hews were past;
Which after being tincted, ruddy for ever∣more did last.
I Shall add my own Sentence: Mix
thy two Natures well, and if thy
matter be pure, both the Body, and the
Water, and the internal Heat of thy
Bath as it ought to be, and the exter∣nal
Fire gentle, and not violent; yet so
that the Matter may circulate, the Spi∣ritual
Page 23

Nature on the Corporal, in six
and forty or fifty days expect the be∣ginning
of intire Blackness; and after
six and fifty days more, or sixty, ex∣pect
the Peacocks Tayl, and Colours
of the Rainbow; and after two and
twenty days more, or four and twen∣ty,
expect Luna perfect, the Whitest
White, which will grow more and more
glorious for the space of twenty days,
or two and twenty at the most: Af∣ter
which, in a little more increased
Fire, expect the Rule of Venus for the
space of forty days, or two and forty;
and after it the Rule of Mars two and
forty days more; and after him the
Rule of Sol flavus forty days, or two
and forty: And then in a moment
comes the Tyrian Colour, the sparkling
Red, the fiery Vermilion, and Red Poppy
of the Rock.

Page 24
Then of the Venom handled thus a Medi∣cine I did make,
Which Venom kills, and saveth such a• Venom chance to take.
THus onely by Decoction these Na∣tures
are changed and altered so
wonderfully to this blessed Tincture,
which expelleth all Poyson, though it
self were a deadly Poyson before the
Preparation, yet after it is the Balsam
of Nature, expelling all Diseases, and
cutting them off as it were with one
Hook, all that are accidental to Hu∣mane
frail Body, which is wonder∣ful.

Glory be to Him the Grantor of such secret Ways;
Dominion and Honour both, with Worship and with Praise. Amen.
NOw GOD only is the Dispenser
of these glorious Mysteries: I
have been a true Witness of Nature
unto thee, and I know that I write
Page 25

true, and all Sons of Art shall by my
Writings know that I am a Fellow-Heir
with them of this Divine Skill.
To the Ignorant I have wrote so plain
as may be, and more I had written if
the Creator of all things had given me
larger Commission. Now to Him alone,
as is due, be all Honour, and Power,
and Glory, who made all things, and
giveth knowledge to whom he listeth of
his Serva•ts, and conceals where he
pleaseth: To Him be ascribed, as due is,
all Service and Honour. And now, Bro∣ther,
whoever enjoyeth this rare Blessing
of God, improve all thy strength to do
him service with it, for he is worthy of
it, who hath created all things, and for
whose sake they were and are created.

The End of Sir George Ripley's Vision, Canon of Bridlington.

MArt. Birrius hath published three
Treatises of this Authors in La∣tin,
(but without the Name Philale∣thes)
in the last of which, entituled Fons
Chymicae Philosophiae, was left out one
whole Chapter, called Porta Prima de
Cal•inatione Philosophica, with some other
defects mentioned by Morhofius in his
Epistle de Metallorum Transmutatione, pag.
145. which Chapter I having by me, and
finding a void Page or two like to pass in
this Sheet, I thought it would neither be
amiss, nor improper, nor unwelcome to
the World, with this Piece of the same
Author to publish it, for satisfaction to
the Hermetical Students, and to prevent
the loss thereof.

WC Bibliop.


The First Gate On Philosophical Calcination.
Calcination cleanses our stone, restores its natural heat, destroys nothing radical of moisture, brings about the proper solution of the Stone; it is a caution that Philosophicè should not be done in a common way, prepared variously with Salts or Sulphur, &c. Whoever, therefore, wishes to Calcinate, let them for the time being desist from this work, until they better understand our Calci∣nation. Indeed, all Calcination destroys the Body, diminishing the moisture of the stone, we also reject all dry gear; indeed, by calcining the radical moisture we increase, we diminish none. We, however, in calc∣ning the nature of our nature join together; that he may enjoy like
like like, if they deny this he will not be worthy of the name of Philosopher, nor will he ever receive any fruit from our writings (for he does not understand them). Nature, therefore, demands that you apply Nature to reason; for all things have this from Nature, that like begets like to itself. From Man, Ho∣mo, is generated from Leo the Lion, so that anything of its own nature is first set in motion. You will learn this, and do not hesitate to perceive the fruit from it.


We therefore make unctuous
shoes , both white and red , which are not completed by several steps ; waxes 〈◊〉 are like fluids, otherwise rejected; and they are not finished until a year later, so that they dye without dye. But above all we must beware of the weight, as it is contingent upon it being hallucinatory: so lest you lose effort, and the oil, the Body of Mercury should be calcined from a subtle composition, in which there is one part of the Solar quality, two parts of the Lunar quality, until the whole is a liquid wax . r flows together.

Increase the quality of the Solar in Mercury, so that its four parts are the two of the Lunar; so begin the work for the figure of the Trinity. Three parts of the body. three spirits, and in order to complete the unity, let one part of the spiritual substance be plus the corporeal substance . By Raymond's Testimony, this comp∣tur , if he seek a proportion there, the Doctor demonstrated the same to me. Bacon , however , took the three parts of the Spirit to one of the Body, and spent many sleepless
nights ;


A Catalogue of certain Books, Printed and to be sold by William Cooper at the Pel∣lican in Little-Britain, London.
SPencers View of the state of Ireland, fol.
Seber's Index to all the Works of Homer, Greek 4 o .
Waraeus on the writers of Ireland in two books. 4 o .
Hist. Gotteschalchi on Predestination, 4 o .
- His Syllogus Vet. Irish Epistles 4 o .
Seldeni de Synedrii, first and third book, 4 o .
Ferrarii Euclid the Physicist against the Papist. 4 o .
Democritus Revives & of Manna, 12 o .
Saint Clare of God, Nature & Grace, 8 o .
Frommenii Synopsis Metaphysica, 12 o .
Jonston's Lexici Chymici, book two, 8 o .
French Grammar for Reformation of the French Tongue, 8o.
A Caveat for the Protestant Clergy, 8o.
The English Rogue, a Romance in 4 Parts, 8o.
Jacob Behmen's Aurora, the Root or Mother of Philosophy, 4o
Smithae's couplets of the Kings of England, in one leaf.
Strada's Musical Duel, or Natural and Artificial Musick, 4o.
Rich. Brathwait Regicidium Tragicomoedia, 8o.
A Vindication of the Doctrine of the state of Souls departed, 8o.
Lusts Dominion, or the Lascivious Queen, a Tragedy, 12o.
Cowell's Interpreter of the Laws of England, 4o.
Paracelsus his Archidoxes with the 10th, Book, 8o.
—his Aurora and Treasure of Philosophers, 8o.

The Philosophical Epitaph, with its Expla∣nation,
Helvetius his Miracle of Nature, in a Trans∣mutation of Lead to Gold, 8o.
Glauber's way to get Gold out of Stones, Sand, &c. 8o.
Jehior the three Principles or Originals of all things, 8o.
A Catalogue of Chymical Books, in 3 Parts. 8o.
Simpson's Philosophical Discourse of Fermenta∣tion, with his Discourse of the Sulphur Bath at Knarsbrough, 8o.
—his Essay towards the Cure of the New Fevers, with his Analogy between Vegetable and Animal Juices, 8o.
The Principles of the Chymists of London, in two Parts, 8o.
Eirenaeus Philalethes his Secrets Reveal'd, 8o.
—his Exposition upon Sir G. Ripley's Epi∣stle to K. Edw. IV. 8o.
—his Exposition upon Sir G. R.'s Preface 8o.
—his Exposit. upon Sir G. R.'s first 6 Gates 8o.
—his Experiments for preparing the So∣phick Mercury, 8o.
—his Exposition upon the Recapitulation, 8o.
—his Exposition upon Sir G. R.'s Vision, 8o.
—his Marrow of Alchymy, in two Poems, 8o.
-His entrance opened to the closed King P • wide, 8 o .
—his Ars Metall•rum Metamorphos••s, 8o
-his Short hand •• ction to the Celestial Ruby. 8 o
-his Source of Chemical Philosophy, 8 o

-His Methodical Narrative of the three Gebri Medicinarum, 8 o .
- these Experiments on the Preparation of the Sophic Mercury, 8 o .
-His Vade-Mecum Philosophicum or Brief Manuscript to the Field of Sophia, 8 o .
Jo. Ern. Burgravius ​​these Vital or Astral Philos. 8 o .
Thomson's Method of Chymical Physick, 8o.
—his Epilogismi Chymici, Latinè, 8o.
Willis his search of the causes of Transmutat. 8o.
Dr. Dee's Fasciculus Chymicus, in English, 8o.
The Water-Stone of the Wise-men, 8o.
Crollius's Admonitory Pref. to his Basil. Chym. 8o.
Gaffarel's Telesmanical Curiosities, &c. 8o.
Naudaeus History of Magick, and reputed Ma∣gicians, 8o.
The Laws of Mines, and Mineral Works, fol.
Alphonsus King of Portugal, of the Philosophers Stone, 4o.
Vigineres discourse of Fire and Salt, 4o.
Geber the famous Arabian Prince and Philoso∣pher his Works, 8o.
The Tomb of Semiramis Hermetically seal'd, 8o.
Boulton's Magical but Natural Physick, 8o.
Despagnets Enchiridion & Arcanum, Engl.
Five Treatises of the Philosophers Stone, 4o.
Nuysement of the Salt and Secret of Philos. 8o.
Place this at the latter end, after the Latine page.